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Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

tedgioia.substack.com

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Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#41

Post by ericwaller »

latchkey wrote: post #36
ericwaller wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost as a rule, in the US at least, large multi-purpose venues sign exclusive contracts with their ticketing provider. That means that all events, including any concerts that come through the building, are ticketed by the venue's chosen ticketing provider. While we're probably better known as a consumer app for buying tickets, SeatGeek also builds the full set of software you need to run a major venue. Everything f…

Thanks Eric. I'm pretty intimately familiar with the whole industry. I once owned a small (~2k person) club / live music / multiuse venue in San Francisco as well as built a ticketing SaSS for USCF (us cycling federation) sanctioned events. From the club days, I got subtly screwed by Clear Channel on an event once and it really left a bad taste in my mouth. From the cycling ticket stuff, I got to deal with another ty…

Very cool (well, not the getting screwed part). Most of my experience so far is on the sports side, with music exposure being more indirect.

It's amazing how many ticketing systems of various forms have been built over the years. It seems like one of those things that should be simple, but there are just so many ways to slice it.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#42

Post by scarface74 »

chasil wrote: post #29
AlbertCory wrote: post #14

When I read this, I was trying to map "record labels" and "music" onto "big 5 publishers" and "books." The Big 5 are not quite there yet, but you can almost feel it gestating in the minds of those executives: "publish your book yourself, and if it's a hit, then we'll reprint it and do your next one." In the other article by Ted Gioia (the talk with Rick Beato), Ted said, back in the old days, half the people in the r…

In the age of internet virality, who would accept an offer from a promoter that demands >80% of your profit? Unless you are acting for reasons of charity, the answer is no.

A popular “musician” is just a front person for an entire organization of producers, videographers, lawyers, promoters, that can get you into venues, choreographers etc.

It still takes a lot to produce a hit and the money is still made from concerts

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/11/137705590/the-...

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#43

Post by qgin »

scarface74 wrote: post #42
chasil wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the age of internet virality, who would accept an offer from a promoter that demands >80% of your profit? Unless you are acting for reasons of charity, the answer is no.

A popular “musician” is just a front person for an entire organization of producers, videographers, lawyers, promoters, that can get you into venues, choreographers etc. It still takes a lot to produce a hit and the money is still made from concerts https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/11/137705590/the-...

I can imagine a lot more stories like the one of Billie Eilish and Finneas producing her first album at home...

> This is no humblebrag bedroom studio that turns out to have been professionally outfitted. It’s just a regular bedroom, with a bed against one wall, where Eilish sat to record her vocals, facing a desk and bookshelves and O’Connell’s modest production setup: Apple Logic Pro X, a Universal Audio Apollo 8 interface and a pair of Yamaha HS5 nearfields with an H8S subwoofer

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#44

Post by ericwaller »

bryans wrote: post #38
ericwaller wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost as a rule, in the US at least, large multi-purpose venues sign exclusive contracts with their ticketing provider. That means that all events, including any concerts that come through the building, are ticketed by the venue's chosen ticketing provider. While we're probably better known as a consumer app for buying tickets, SeatGeek also builds the full set of software you need to run a major venue. Everything f…

I realize that your primary target is major venues, but do you have any plans for expanding to 200-500 cap venues? A management solution is desperately needed in that space!

I'm guessing you mean music venues? The short answer is yes, eventually.

The slightly longer answer is that we'll probably be the strongest option for smaller venues that want to do more complex stuff. To the extent that there's always some tradeoff between simplicity and power, we're likely to continue to lean pretty heavily on the power side for our core ticketing system.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#45

Post by skinnymuch »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #30
mr_toad wrote: post #3

I don’t get why artists even use record labels anymore. Is there something that Facebook/YouTube/iTunes etc doesn’t provide?

I hate to parse words but the article isn't about artists. It's about pop stars. Corporate puppets. Literally, tools of the trade. Who gets the massive streams for the next release? It doesn't matter to label. That's the nature of pop music. There's always the next big thing right behind the current big thing, which pushed out what is not the last big thing. Artists? Artists don't play these type of games.

Edit: now that I skimmed the article, I overall agree with you.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#46

Post by skinnymuch »

patchtopic wrote: post #32

there is an alternative, speaking as someone who purchases piles of music in lossless format from bandcamp and similar sites, from musicians who could not five a f*ck about tiktok or other lame surveillance capitalism platforms.

I’d love my fav indie bands to trend on tiktok. I want them to have more money. Tho yeah they aren’t in the business of caring about tiktok

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#47

Post by wombatpm »

dragontamer wrote: post #6
theflyinghorse wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upfront funding to get you going. Recording, traveling, promoting all costs money. We're getting better with cheaper tools, and cheaper promotion platforms (tiktok and all), but still there is a need for capital

>> The singer Halsey put up a TikTok last week complaining about her label’s obsession with TikTok. “I have a song I love I wanna release ASAP,” she told fans on the platform, “but my record label won’t let me. I’ve been in this industry for eight years and I’ve sold over 165 million records, and my record company is saying that I can’t release it unless they can fake a viral moment on TikTok.” ------- The article is…

Authenticity. Once you can fake that you’ll really go places

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#49

Post by AlbertCory »

soneca wrote: post #34
AlbertCory wrote: post #14

When I read this, I was trying to map "record labels" and "music" onto "big 5 publishers" and "books." The Big 5 are not quite there yet, but you can almost feel it gestating in the minds of those executives: "publish your book yourself, and if it's a hit, then we'll reprint it and do your next one." In the other article by Ted Gioia (the talk with Rick Beato), Ted said, back in the old days, half the people in the r…

I agree a lot with that. I see advice from famous writers saying how you need to do your own marketing even if published by famous firms. Go to events, podcasts, interviews. I created a “Substack for fiction” because I wanted to publish myself without having to beg for attention of a few gatekeepers.

My #1 favorite thing to do at Google was hosting authors (search "bob's author talks" on YouTube, although it didn't work for me just now). The thing about those talks is: they were almost 100% authors with a publisher behind them. The publisher would pay for their book tours. A self-published author might manage to give a talk at Google or the 92nd Street Y in NYC, but it would be tough.

They can also get your book reviewed in the few publications that still review books, and they can send their catalogs to bookstores. But yeah, they take more of the money than a self-publishing arrangement will take.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#50

Post by hammyhavoc »

ushakov wrote: post #40
spread_love wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article mentions why this model (and your article) is quickly becoming outdated: > record labels who sign TikTok stars initially demanded complete ownership of all the master recordings, and tried to keep 85% of future revenues. [Musicians] wouldn’t even collect the paltry 15% until they paid off their advance. > but TikTok influencers now have so many labels chasing after them, they can play them off against ea…

the model won’t disappear any time soon do you think people really care about TikTok artists? one example i’m familiar with are the Island Boys they’ve got their 15 minutes of fame, but no more than that TikTok audience is practically trained to receive a new dose of serotonin on every swipe and if they’re seeing the same person again, that ain’t gonna do it

Obviously you underestimate the ability of teen demographics to become obsessive and form a long-term fandom. See K-pop.
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