One day an A & R scout calls them, says he's 'been following them for a while now, and when their manager mentioned them to him, it just "clicked." Would they like to meet with him about the possibility of working out a deal with his label?' Wow. Big Break time.
~~ Steve Albini, "The Problem With Music."

So their profit is $6.6 million; the band may as well be working at a 7-Eleven. Of course, they had fun. Hearing yourself on the radio, selling records, getting new fans and being on TV is great, but now the band doesn't have enough money to pay the rent and nobody has any credit.
~~ Courtney Love, "Love Manifesto."

The history of the music industry is a history of dissembling, conflict of interest, exploitation, and theft - legal, illegal and quasi-legal.
~~ Robert Fripp, "Discipline Global Mobile: Mission Statement."

It's an unlimited supply . . . Hello EMI? Goodbye A&M.
~~ The Sex Pistols, "EMI."

Don't Believe The Hype

One theme dominated the music press throughout 1999: the Napster file-trading software was going to revolutionize the industry. Artists were touted as having greater artistic control and major labels were demonized. Then the Recording Industry Association of America and the entertainment lawyers moved in. Over the next eighteen months the innovative file-trading software companies were bankrupted, bought out or forced to shift to fee-paying systems. The dream of the unlimited digital jukebox was compromised.

In the popular consciousness, the battleground over file-trading software was fought between Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Public Enemy's Chuck D. The music press simplified this debate: Lars Ulrich defended the music industry status quo and conservative major label artists, while Chuck D supported the file-sharing and new initiatives like Internet radio stations (Bring The Noise and Rap Station) and the SLAMJamz label. "Artistic control" versus "label freedom." When management company Q-Prime moved to censor Rage Against The Machine (clients along with Metallica and Dr. Dre), the agitpop band countered with a defense of file-trading and their fans. Although Chuck D drew attention to the "standard 80/20 contract", the media preferred the war of personalities. The underlying causes of the dispute remained hidden.

A Precedent on the Real Thieves

Chuck D was harassed by a minority of music critics for jumping on the file-trading software bandwagon as a career-saving move. Similar venom greeted Courtney Love's controversial speech at the Digital Hollywood conference (2000), in which she assailed the record labels as the real thieves. Hole filed a lawsuit against Geffen Records which may become a precedent for music artists: Courtney Love sought to end the band's contract with the label by applying a seven-year limit under Californian law for contracts which the industry to-date has been exempted from. The lawsuit has the support of many artists including members of Rage Against The Machine and REM.

File-swapping software and peer-to-peer networks have empowered more musicians to defy major labels, payola distribution and the need for an MTV video to gain airplay. Other "standard practices" remains the status quo. Contracts for indie and major labels still have a legal emphasis that favors the company's short-term profit cycle over the long-term career development of the artist. A&R (Artists & Repertoire) scouts still 'surf' the subcultures and the underground, signing a few artists, stalling others, and sometimes leaving fragmentation in their wake. Music management emulates the business practices developed by the Big 5 accountancy firms and the major consultancy firms. The technological promise of file-swapping software must be counter-balanced by a similar revolution of business culture within the music industry.

Benchmarking for New Guerrillas

Guerrilla musicians with cutting-edge tech will need a new generation of guerrilla executives. When Robert Fripp founded the Discipline Global Mobile label he created easily understandable contracts and implemented Triple Bottom Line accounting practices (inclusive of the company's employees, the society and the environment). In many cases he signed artists and released their albums by relying on relationship-building and trust over contracts. He devised a number of ways, from CD booklet essays to Web site diaries, to initiate a discussion with his audience about "standard practices" and industry values. Fripp's attention-to-detail contrasted with the 'dinosaur' record companies he had been signed to and his ultra-controlling former managers.

Artists risk their careers when they outsource their financial affairs to accountants and managers who don't have long-term thinking or a sense of stewardship. Sting and Billy Joel discovered this through lawsuits against accountants and managers who embezzled their earnings. Anthrax and Motley Crue were signed to major labels and then endured career nose-dives when their supporters were ousted by political in-fighting. Changing "standard practices" will means altering how artists are promoted within labels: a key reason why "standard contracts" need to be changed.

Taking The Power Back

The cutting-edge artists of today are going beyond vertical and horizontal structures to seize control of their careers. Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor produced and edited the live DVD/album And All That Could Have Been (2002) in-house. He invested his royalties in state-of-the-art recording studios. Reznor has greater creative control over his releases by owning the means of production and controlling the aesthetics/image-making process.

The average band used to have a maximum lifecycle of five years: enough time for three albums and several extensive tours. The current life-cycle of most artists is measured in weeks and months. The ebb and flow of styles can be just as bittersweet. Ten years after Seattle's grunge scene became an international phenomena, only Pearl Jam remains to rally the fans. The other bands imploded (Nirvana), split up (Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden) or went on permanent hiatus (Alice In Chains).

If Courtney Love succeeds in her self-appointed mission to re-shape "standard practices" then we'll all really be in debt to her priceless advice. Just ask Julian Cope.

The views expressed above represent the writer and not necessarily those of The Disinformation Company Ltd.