There’s a massive divide between mainstream musicians and those in the Indie bracket. As usual with the modern, dog eat dog world, it’s all about affordability.
If musicians are rich enough, or lucky enough, to be able to afford massive PR machines, do they ever stop to think about those who are mostly making music for love of the Arts, rather than making money?
People working on a shoestring budget, where everything promotion wise is or almost FREE, how do they compare with the big names who get free publicity thrown at them? How do they manage to get airtime on radio and TV, or Play time on the major music streaming platforms, that result in an actual income?
How many have fallen into the trap of tring to build an audience, by “buying” success, the cost of which usually outweighs the income produced (if any).
Here’s an example:
A guy I have known for 55 years, has periodically been in bands. In the 1980’s, he started composing his own work. 16 years ago, he gathered together two friends, and recorded one of his originals. In 2017, he joined a covers band, that suffered from constant personnel changes. Just as they were ready to start gigging, Covid struck and the project was put on hold, causing further members to leave. Eventually, in 2024, they started to gig.
In the meantime, my mate became quite prolific at writing and recording his own stuff in his home studio. In 2020, he joined up with two members of the covers band, a vocalist and trumpeter, plus myself as part time lyricist and occasional Promoter. Again, we were seriously hampered by Covid and lockdowns, but managed to deliver some pretty reasonable songs and video’s.
To date, we’ve delivered TWO albums and an EP. During that time. we’ve earned $30 from Spotify and £15 from Bandcamp sales. One track actually received 100,000 Plays/Views across social media/platforms. 60k of those came from Soundcloud, a platform that pays royalties, but only if you join their Premium package at 75 quid a year. So I investigated just how much 60,000 Plays on Soundcloud is worth, and the answer is:
$148 - £114
So we’d be in front - just, however….
The numbers for that particular song cover more than 12 months, so in fact, we’d be out of pocket.
QUESTION:
Is it worth it?
TBC…..
Before you go…
It is far worse for classical musicians, and classical composers (with the exception of those writing for movies -- e.g., John Williams) must generally stand on our toes to reach rock bottom. I belong to Vox Saeculorum, a group of contemporary composers who write in baroque style (among others). Most of us simply put our music on a website for free download.
I've also had some compositions published, and royalties run...er...uh...well...I think the last statement came in at just over $5.00 or so.