Growing up, I always listened to music - not much has changed since then. My father, a fellow music lover, was the one who got me into the artists I listen to today, most of which are smaller, indie label singer songwriters. While the content we consume is similar, the ways we consume have changed dramatically. The internet has grown tremendously in the past few decades, especially when it comes to the music scene. Nowadays, we have things like iTunes and Spotify to listen to what we want, when we want. But is this efficiency beneficial to everyone involved? Are artists, big or small, getting paid the fair amount of money? The music industry is unfair to artists because the internet takes away from their sales.
To start, the internet …show more content…
Regardless of how artists earn their money, most contracts involved with major labels aren’t very clear, causing them to lose several thousands of dollars, and possibly going into debt. Many major music labels receive most of the revenue that their clients make; nearly half of all royalties paid to artists are given to the label. Jared Leto, lead singer of the band Thirty Seconds to Mars, told the Rolling Stone that "if you think the fact that we have sold in excess of 2 million records and have never been paid a penny is pretty unbelievable, well, so do we” (Kreps 2). Of the millions of records that the band sold, zero profit has been made. It’s easy to think that artists should read their contracts before they sign them so that they know what they’re getting themselves into. If they read the contracts they’re signed to, then they’ll know whether or not they have proper control over their music. Unfortunately, this isn't the case for most people. You see, Prince told a group of journalists - one of which being Eric Deggans for NPR - that “typical record company contracts turn artists into indentured servants with little control over how their music is used, particularly when it comes to revenue from streaming services playing their music online” (Deggans 3). Even artists as big as Taylor Swift and Prince have very little control over their music, especially when it comes to the money
To start, the internet …show more content…
Regardless of how artists earn their money, most contracts involved with major labels aren’t very clear, causing them to lose several thousands of dollars, and possibly going into debt. Many major music labels receive most of the revenue that their clients make; nearly half of all royalties paid to artists are given to the label. Jared Leto, lead singer of the band Thirty Seconds to Mars, told the Rolling Stone that "if you think the fact that we have sold in excess of 2 million records and have never been paid a penny is pretty unbelievable, well, so do we” (Kreps 2). Of the millions of records that the band sold, zero profit has been made. It’s easy to think that artists should read their contracts before they sign them so that they know what they’re getting themselves into. If they read the contracts they’re signed to, then they’ll know whether or not they have proper control over their music. Unfortunately, this isn't the case for most people. You see, Prince told a group of journalists - one of which being Eric Deggans for NPR - that “typical record company contracts turn artists into indentured servants with little control over how their music is used, particularly when it comes to revenue from streaming services playing their music online” (Deggans 3). Even artists as big as Taylor Swift and Prince have very little control over their music, especially when it comes to the money