Is Crowdfunding Killing The Music Industry?
The life of a rock star. Playing shows all over the world. Bank accounts brimming with royalties. A hefty advances from record labels. It all sounds so glamourous. Sadly, for most who choose to make music their vocation this is a far away dream.
Let's start with the good, however. There is light at the end of the tunnel for musicians without label representation to offer then advances on recording their next record. It's called crowdfunding.
Kickstarter allows all costs to be paid directly to the artists upfront where normally a record label would offer an advance. This allows smaller artists who are without the backing of a major record label to record their music with the benefit of it being delivered straight to their most loyal fans: "It gives fans a sense of being involved in the process, not just as a listener buying a finished album. It gives you more of a connection and I am really grateful to everyone who has chosen to donate money," says Nana Jacobi - a singer-songwriter who funded a vinyl press of her new album 'Expander' on the website.
Artists offer incentives in return for their fans' money. Nana is offering fans the chance to hang out in her trendy Vestebro studio while Disarray Son are even getting inked in the name of art: "It was just an idea that was flung out into our practice space and at first, everyone wanted to do it, but now some of us [looks at guitarist, Mads Kieler] are a little more worried that they'll have to get a tattoo that they can't wear proudly," explains vocalist, Anders Friis, "but the most important part about that is that even though it's reckless, it's us showing people how much we really want this".
Suzana Barbosa is a musician turned expert on royalties in the music industry. Her band, Lumanova, utilised crowdfunding to its full potential and even managed to record an album in Berlin as it was cheaper than recording in her home country, Canada. Now, she fronts sustainable ways in which musicians can overcome the hardship they may face. Her feelings on Kickstarter are simple: "We used that a lot, but it just doesn't feel right having to ask fans for the money," she continues, "It's not a sustainable way for musicians to operate - it just feels like we're covering all the symptoms with a band aid."
Suzana may be right: it doesn't pay the bills. And seemingly, neither does Spotify.
"Everyone I spoke to thought Spotify pays the rent - it doesn't," recalls Suazana.
Remember Taylor Swift's most recent break up with Spotify? It was a smart career move. Although the platform is a handy tool for listeners, it wasn't doing Tay any favours with its 0.07USD payout per listen. As a result, downloads of her music on iTunes has skyrocketed, earning her a whopping 0.60USD per download after her label take their cut. And it's an even sweeter deal for unsigned artists like Disarray Son: "we get 85 per cent of all of our earnings from Spotify, so I think that's a very good cut as opposed to what we would earn from it if we were signed," says Anders.
"But on the other hand, some labels work really hard to promote their artists, so even if you do have to waive some rights, they can push you forward. Labels aren't all bad," adds drummer, Lauge Heebøl.
While a world of free music may be at our fingertips, it only contributes to the problem as fans are not longer shelling out for their favourite albums as Suzana puts it: "Y'know what, I can't compete with free."
It also turns out that playing shows doesn't pay well either. Dissaray Son guitarist, Mads Kieler illustrates this: "we'll play showcases and the organisers know we're desperate to play but the most you can expect from that kind of thing is food, drinks...possibly transport and we don't end up actually making any cash from it."
Being a musician,for most, isn't a full time gig either. Some also need to take on other jobs and projects to support themselves for example Nana is a vocal coach who also writes music for indie films. And Dissaray Son are balancing their studies with being rock stars.
"It's like the Clark Kent Superman thing!" jokes bassist, Mathias Bust.
The conclusion? Choosing a life of making music isn't a fool proof way to superstardom. Record deals are scarce, money is tight and moonlighting is almost always an inevitable means to pay the bills. Crowdfunding may seem like a great thing on the surface, but how long can we paper over the cracks with fan handouts until we realise that being a musician is a tough route to take?
