2008 Woodie Awards
Argh: pirating music isn't bad
Jack Burke '11
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Opinion
"Downloading music is stealing; musicians deserve money for the work that they do." This is the kind of response given by those who are against "piracy" of music.
The problem is that this statement is largely uninformed. The truth usually is, artists make little to no money from CD sales. The image presented is that popular musicians make millions from popular albums, however, this is not often the case.
Artists make only a small fraction of the $14 normally paid for their album (usually less than a dollar). Furthermore, artists don't pocket this money.
Heard of a "million dollar advance" for an album? That means the record company gives them $1 million to make the album, but they have to make the $1 million back.
For each CD sale, the artist's 50 cents is recouped by the record label to pay for the cost of the album. If the artist doesn't sell enough albums to pay for the cost, they owe the label the rest of the money.
The money that successful artists make comes from other sources. One large source of income is ticket sales for concerts. As opposed to the small amount made per album sale, musicians make at least half, if not more, of the cost of the ticket. This money isn't touched by anyone else; it goes straight into the artists' pockets.
Another big way musicians make money is by selling those expensive T-shirts at their shows. The performers themselves make the profit from these sales.
Other merchandise is also a source of income, so when you're buried in your KISS coffin, Gene Simmons will be making more from this than when you bought their entire discography.
Another source of income is licensing songs to movies, commercials, TV shows, etc. The distinction that should be made here is that this money goes to the copyright owner. In most cases, the Britney Spears-es of the world don't write their own material, and therefore don't make money off this endeavor.
Instead of buying albums to support artists, go see them in concert. Buy a T-shirt and enjoy the experience. It's still illegal to download music because of copyright laws; however, those who purchase music to support their favorite artists should be informed that their money isn't always making it back to the performers.
The problem is that this statement is largely uninformed. The truth usually is, artists make little to no money from CD sales. The image presented is that popular musicians make millions from popular albums, however, this is not often the case.
Artists make only a small fraction of the $14 normally paid for their album (usually less than a dollar). Furthermore, artists don't pocket this money.
Heard of a "million dollar advance" for an album? That means the record company gives them $1 million to make the album, but they have to make the $1 million back.
For each CD sale, the artist's 50 cents is recouped by the record label to pay for the cost of the album. If the artist doesn't sell enough albums to pay for the cost, they owe the label the rest of the money.
The money that successful artists make comes from other sources. One large source of income is ticket sales for concerts. As opposed to the small amount made per album sale, musicians make at least half, if not more, of the cost of the ticket. This money isn't touched by anyone else; it goes straight into the artists' pockets.
Another big way musicians make money is by selling those expensive T-shirts at their shows. The performers themselves make the profit from these sales.
Other merchandise is also a source of income, so when you're buried in your KISS coffin, Gene Simmons will be making more from this than when you bought their entire discography.
Another source of income is licensing songs to movies, commercials, TV shows, etc. The distinction that should be made here is that this money goes to the copyright owner. In most cases, the Britney Spears-es of the world don't write their own material, and therefore don't make money off this endeavor.
Instead of buying albums to support artists, go see them in concert. Buy a T-shirt and enjoy the experience. It's still illegal to download music because of copyright laws; however, those who purchase music to support their favorite artists should be informed that their money isn't always making it back to the performers.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
dg213959
DG
posted 4/23/08 @ 12:52 PM EST
It's worth noting (and rarely brought up in these discussions) that the artists themselves aren't the only ones involved in the production of the album - you'll typically have people involved in mixing and producing the album, mastering it for various mediums, promoting it, and a number of other areas. (Continued…)
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