Even though the music industry has improved regarding its treatment of recording artists, it still has a long ways to go.
I have loved music for as long as I can remember. As a child, my parents would always listen to the biggest hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Queen, The Beatles, and other classic rock bands while I was finding out about the music of Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson on my own. As I got older and found out that I could sing, I realized that I wanted to make music just like them a
nd that is still what I'm pursuing to this day.
However, I came to find out that the music industry isn't exactly what I had hoped it would be as a kid. My searches led me to articles and interviews where Kelly Clarkson talked about the fights she had with her record label regarding her music and career. I read post after post and listened to multiple podcasts where people talked about how the music industry interfered with their life and basically stabbed them in the back. I have also seen plenty of articles, especially recently, about artists saying that their labels are giving them more creative control or that they have gone completely independent. Truly, there is a shift taking place in the music industry that is starting to better favor the artist. However, even though the music industry has improved regarding its treatment of recording artists, it still has a long ways to go.
Contracts
The root of many of the issues in the music industry is contracts, specifically how they're worded. In order for an artist to join a record label or have their music on a steaming service, such as Spotify, they have to sign a contract that states things such as how much the artist will make from sales/streams, what percentage the other party gets, how much the label will spend on promotion, etc. When ever an artist has tried to fight against their record label or a streaming service, the issue has usually had some kind of contract tied to it that was written to favor the label or streaming service.
Record Labels
To give an example of how contracts play a role for record labels, I will refer back to the aforementioned situation Kelly Clarkson went through. When she put out her third album, My December, Clarkson's label did not want to release it as it was because most of the songs were not "mainstream" enough. Regarding this situation, Clarkson said, "I've sold more than 15 million
records worldwide, and still nobody listens to what I have to say." She couldn't just leave because her record deal made her obligated to stay with the label for 15 years. Besides, even if she could've left, the label would've still owned all of the material she had recorded with them. Even after her departure from them in 2017, they still own all of those songs, which is the standard practice of the music industry.
Another notable example of how contracts tend to favor labels over artists is what happened to TLC. In 1995, the girl group filed for bankruptcy at the peak of their career. It had gotten to the point where they couldn't pay their bills because "their contract [gave] them so small a share of the rewards of their success." This example is, admittedly, a bit extreme, but still shows how much control record labels can have regarding the income of their artists, especially when they're the ones drafting the contract. TLC was paid "56 cents per album sold, and even less for each single - which they then had to split three ways." Try living off of that.
Streaming Services
But labels aren't the only entities in the music industry who have benefitted from self-serving contracts. Streaming services have also been notorious for letting artists put their music on their platform in exchange for making more of the money per stream via ad revenue. Thankfully, most streaming services have changed their ways since Taylor Swift's infamous letter to Apple Music in 2016. However, Spotify is still known for pocketing a little more money than what they pay to artists, so there are still some areas in need of improvement there.
Why Should I Care?
Now, I know what you're thinking, 'aren't all of the celebrity singers and rappers who this applies to rich?' Well first off, not everyone who's signed to a label with a few albums out on iTunes are necessarily famous and doing very well for themselves. Secondly, try thinking of it like this. Imagine a normal day at your current job, or a previous job you've had. You might be working behind a desk, talking to customers, or sitting in a meeting. Regardless, what you do is work and you do it with the expectation that you will be paid properly in return.
Now, instead of your desk or cubicle, or whatever your workspace may be, imagine that you are sitting with producers and songwriters working on music you are hoping people will like enough to buy or stream. You have to talk with them to see what you need to change in a song, what the overall sound of it should be, and a number of other things. Once you have a song out, then you need to work with your label to promote it with radio airplay, magazine interviews, live performances, etc. Even if you were making a decent amount of money as it was, wouldn't you want more if you felt that you weren't being properly compensated financially?
A Musical Reformation
The changes taking place in the music industry remind me of the Catholic Reformation that took place in Europe during the 16th century. People protested against the church for its wrongdoings, such as when Martin Luther wrote his famous 95 Theses and nailed them to the door of the Castle Church in 1517 in protest of the church's collection of indulgences, or money exchanged for forgiveness from sin. Among the many things he said is "Man does not... become better by means of indulgences."
Likewise, artists don't benefit by giving up some of their creative freedom or money to the music industry. Changes are taking place and progress is being made, but the music industry still has a lot to work on regarding the way artists are treated. As artists continue to protest and fight for what is rightfully theirs, they will pave the way for future artists to be even more successful and free than them.
Sources
- Rebel Yell, Page 5. Internet Archive
- Does Going 'Broke' Mean Artist Really Doesn't Have Any Money? Internet Archive
- The dark tale of TLC going bankrupt in the '90s. Beat.com
- The 95 Theses
Image Credits
- "Written Contract" (Public Domain)
- "My December" (RCA Records & 19 Recordings Limited)
- "95 Theses" (Public Domain)
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