Recording Artists Profit From DIY Revolution

Bandcamp is one of many new websites bands can utilize to independently distribute their music.

BY SABRINA VICTOR

In a world where bands like Radiohead can sell 3 million copies of their In Rainbows album using the “Pay What You Want” option without a record label, many have come to wonder if it’s necessary to be signed to a major label to achieve success in the music industry. DIY stands for “Do it Yourself” and more artists than ever before have been utilizing this distribution technique to earn a larger profit from their music. It does require a lot of patience and effort but offers greater rewards in the long run. DIY enables artists to build a fan base through technology and gives them the freedom they wouldn’t have at a record label.

The band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah started a commotion in 2005 when they posted their music for free on the website Pitchfork Media. The free music worked to their benefit and helped create a fan base which lead to 200,000 copies sold when they released their self financed and self-titled debut album.

“Because there are so many new avenues opening up these days, if you have good songs and the right relationships you can just totally bypass this whole label system. Which is just great for independent music and this way, we get 80 percent, or at least a larger chunk of (our earnings). It just makes more sense,” Clap Your Hands Say Yeah bassist Tyler Sargent said in Paste Magazine.

The increase in consumers using technology to acquire music has put record labels on the defensive. According to The Guardian CD sales have plummeted since the rise of digital technology has allowed people to distribute and share music. Physical CD sales have decreased every year for past six years and revenue from CD sales has been cut in half during the last decade from 14.6 billion in 1999 to 6.3 billion in 2009.

The old model doesn’t work anymore and artists have embraced alternate means to distribute their music. For example the site Sound Cloud allows people to create, record, and share the sounds they create anywhere from a Smartphone or computer to friends, family, and the world.

“I use Sound Cloud as a promotional platform to release new tracks, remixes and mixtapes. When you work alone, it’s easy to make decisions since you answer to yourself. I have creative control and find it easier to transmit my thoughts and feeling into the music,” Sound Cloud user Victor Ferreira said.

Band Camp is another site that allows artists to sell their music and merchandise directly to fans. It also helps fans discover new music and directly support the artists who make the music. Band Camp has provided an avenue for independent artists to make a profit.

“Technology has evened the playing field. If the artist can gain more power over the situation–over the economics of the situation–why wouldn’t they take it?” Wilco lead singer Jeff Tweedy said in an interview in Rolling Stone.

Wilco created their own label dBpm and last year released their eighth album The Whole Love independently. Wilco topped the charts with The Whole Love while growing their audience outside of the mainstream. The Whole Love also earned Wilco a Grammy nomination and helped launch a successful North American Tour.  The internet has become a vital tool for bands like Wilco to promote their music and has proved to be effective even without a record label.

Being free of a record label is the benefit of DIY. Major record companies are businesses and try to make the most profit possible for themselves from the artist’s brand and music, controlling the rights to the songs and their use. However, artists who record their own music are able to keep the rights and can profit from their songs use in movies, TV, and other projects. Record labels also get the majority of the profit from CD sales. A 10 percent royalty rate is common for major label artists. That means that if a CD sells for $15 the artist only receives $1.50. This small percentage is often used to pay off the label for expenses on recording, tours, etc., which often leaves artists with nothing or even in debt to the label. DIY allows artists to make a larger profit from their CD’s in addition to being able to freely express their musical vision without interference.

Technology has signaled the decline of major recording labels and a rise of independent artists. Most artists want creative control and the benefits that come with their music. As long as an artist has quality songs, the talent to perform live and a dedicated work ethic to spread their music using social media sites, they don’t need a record label by their side anymore to be successful.