So here’s a shocker – record labels are not out to get you, or at least not most of the time, or at least not most of the time if you’re not an idiot. Okay, there was a few layers to that and we definitely need to unpack them a little bit but I think you are starting to see what I’m getting at. What’s incredibly frustrating for me as a label guy is hearing normal people say that they feel labels are there to screw over artists constantly. And I get it, a lot of artists feel like they have been screwed over by labels over the years, and some of them probably have. The thing is a lot of others just didn’t read the fine print, were rushed into it of a desire for, money, fame, and fortune or simply were trying to find a way to wheedle out of what they know was a contract that was not in their favor and now that they have clout they are throwing a fit over it. The thing is – the music industry is, shockingly, not a huge scam. It’s just a complicated business.
Here’s the thing – most labels are using some pretty advanced and complex contracts, not because they want to screw artists over but because the average record deal has been shaped by the last century of lawyers fighting back and forth over money and this has led to some complex and gargantuan shit. Furthermore, in most cases the label is the one with the power, they have the money, the clout and the ability to rule the roost as tastemakers. Labels are the ones in the power seat and yes contracts are frequently very much in their favor, but odds are if you read the contract and moreover understood it, then you would be okay. The thing is, most people don’t understand the contracts they sign, they don’t hire a lawyer and they don’t even do a bare minimum of research. This is the bleak reality we are facing and the struggle that I think bands need to wrassle with on the day-to-day, what the way forward is, I don’t rightly know.
The point being; if a band goes into a deal without a clear understanding of what to expect from their record deal they are going to be screwed over. The margin of profit at big labels is incredibly small and figuring out a way for that to make sense for your band is very hard. This isn’t just because the music business is suffering and we need to survive the struggle constantly but because things like manufacturing and production cost money, and getting distribution is pricey. They need to eat too, and when it comes down to it, managers and label people, at least in the traditional sense are working with dozens of bands, you are in one. Of course, the money is skewed one way. Now I’m not saying every label is a bunch of saints, people at labels are just as incompetent, selfish and lazy as your average human, but it’s remiss to think that they are putting contracts together explicitly to fuck people over because they are evil. Seriously, do you know how hard it is to recoup an advance on an unknown band? Very. Be aware of that.
Now obviously you can technically do all of this stuff yourself, but do you know how much work that is? And I’m not talking about the easy things like manufacturing, PR, and distro, all that stuff can be pieced together by any halfwit with knowledge of Google. I’m talking about things like branding and having names that have clout being affiliated with your product. At the end of the day getting a stream on a big site is only going to take you so far and sell so many copies. Getting affiliated with a noted curator of taste who is, and this is important, relevant to you is key if you want to be able to take your music to the next level. Labels are the ones with clout in the underground because they are the ones telling people what is actually good and what is just more noisy bullshit. It’s as simple as that. More than that, the labels are the one with massive resources in order to get better deals than you could get on your own and with relationships to help push you to the next level.
Again, I’m not defending everyone who has ever run a label. There are a ton of labels that have screwed over artists. What I will say though is that a lot of the people who start labels and then end up screwing over artists do so out of mismanagement rather than malice, this is an important distinction and one that I think not a lot of people want to hear, unfortunately. I know that you want to demonize the person who hurt you, but such is the struggle. And like, let’s also be honest, artists aren’t perfect either. Do you know how many artists who are completely off their rocker blame labels for being evil when they haven’t done the bare minimum on their end and where assholes the time? Thousands if not millions. Yet the public usually lands on the side of the artist because they are the ones with a face whereas the label is often portrayed as a shadowy corporation. Sometimes that’s the case, but usually, it’s just people being people and trying to love music.
Long story short – record labels are not some weird decades-long scam constructed in order to take advantage o musicians. If these people didn’t have at least some passion behind their music then they wouldn’t be working in music and would be running real scams somewhere else. that’s just a huge part of the struggle of this entire thing. You need to be kind and loving and show patience and self-awareness. If we are able to do that and able to look after each other than there is going to be meaningful growth and cool and effective ways forward. If there is not then we are shooting ourselves in the collective foot and will just go back to hating each other. The label guy and the artist can be friends, just chill out and live a little.
MATT BACON
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Matt Bacon is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Having worked with everyone from Glam Rock icon Phil Collen of Def Leppard, to post Black Metal titans Alcest, by way of legendary thrashers Exhorder as well as labels including Prophecy Productions and Ripple Music, he has dedicated his life to helping young bands develop. Having started his own blog at the age of 14 he views his career in artist development as ‘a hobby that got out of hand’. In 2015 he formed Dropout Media in order to better support the artists he loves. We sit here now, years later with countless tours booked, records released and deals signed, and loving every minute of it.
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