Originally Posted By: eddie1261
Originally Posted By: Bob Buford
These days if you're in it for the money, I'm afraid that part of it is pretty much over. The digital era makes it easy to record, but also easy to steal. When a band like Lady Antebellum gets 62 million plays on the web of "Need You Now" and only earns $1,200 in royalties, what chance do the rest of us have?


If any band should not complain about stealing, that band would be Lady Antebellum. Listen to this mashup.

Lady A's stolen song

As far as the $1200, everybody knows going in that they will make like .0004 cents per play on the web. I don't agree, but when you sign a contract for .0004 cents per play, you sign away any right to complain about the money. Pandora and all those services pay a ridiculous amount for plays. I think Matt Finley has his music on Pandora and may have input here. At the end of the day though, Pandora plays for a major touring act is just loose change found in the couch cushions.

This has been here before, but you may not have seen it. Proof that there is not much new under the sun.

6 identical country song mashup


I didn't say Lady Antebellum was complaining about stealing, my point is that digital music is easily stolen however you define "stolen". The drop in overall music industry revenue testifies to that point. Kids particularly, IF they buy an album, share it with anyone who wants it. Thanks, Napster, for kicking that off for us. There's a whole generation of people who think music should be FREE. Anyway, I quit fighting that battle long ago. People steal music in one way or another, whether by outright copying or streaming rates so low that it might as well be free. And just because you KNOW they're screwing you doesn't justify the act. So basically I'm saying if you're in it for the money, good luck with that.

As for the "mashup" reference, I had a friend who used to tell me, "Why do you bother, Bob? It's all been written!" Pretty much true in every genre. But we trudge on. I'd love to get a song covered, but I don't expect to be paid anything substantial IF it ever happens. Man, I hate the term (and the reality) but "It's a labor of love."

Back in my entrepreneurial days when I owned a music store, and had just completed my first album, a lady walked in with her husband and announced "I love your new album so much I made eighteen copies for my family and friends." Her husband just stared out the window nervously. That album cost me $20k back when that was a lot of money. I'd NEVER do that again. I wanted to tell her "Well, it's people like you that insure that I'll probably never be able to afford to do another one." But I didn't. I just said "Thank you." and wrote it off to the general public's complete ignorance of the concept of intellectual property. I'm always reminded of a quote I once read regarding the music industry: "It's a great business, but a sad profession." Anyone who's been in the "biz" for any length of time has experienced a least a little of that. Carry on. grin

BIAB 2018 ULTRA
https://soundcloud.com/bob-buford
https://www.youtube.com/user/hawgly
https://www.songtradr.com/user/profile/bob.buford