“Before you sell your soul, better do the math” — Ice Cube
Steve Albini’s classic article “The Problem With Music” (from The Baffler #5) is written from the perspective of a producer who worked with artists he liked from both major and indie labels. He proposed that the ethical reasons for going independent were reinforced by, perhaps even overshadowed by, the economic ones.
Since it had long been assumed that people “sold out” for the money, this was quite a shock for many the armchair pundit. Certainly I was appalled and fascinated at the amount of money involved in the music business and how little of it actually got to the music makers.
While the publishing industry isn’t nearly as exploitive or as lucrative as the music biz, looking at the numbers involved can be interesting. (more…)