How do bands make money? United Kingdom-based Right Chord Music recently released the results of a small, 200-participant survey of mostly independent musicians. According to the survey, 75% of the participants were unsigned independent musicians. Based on that fact and some of the other numbers from the survey, we can conclude that the musicians answering the […]
Why Pandora Wants to Pay Less and What It Means for Licensing Reform
By John Seay, Atlanta Entertainment Lawyer: The Seay Firm LLC (@TheSeayFirmLLC) On September 21, 2012, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced H.R. 6480, better known as the Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA). If passed, IRFA would drastically reduce the amount of royalties that webcasters like Pandora pay to owners of sound recordings by directing the Copyright […]
Cover of the Rolling Stone: The Disconnect Between Public Success and Monetary Success
by John Seay, The Seay Firm LLC (@TheSeayFirmLLC) In the movie Almost Famous, members of the fictional band Stillwater burst into song after learning they made the cover of Rolling Stone.[1] Sure, Stillwater is happy because making the cover validates their existence, but it also—especially back in 1973—meant increased record sales and concert attendance, which […]
Owning It: Why I Collect Music in the Age of the Cloud
Much to the amusement of my friends, I’ve never been quick to adopt new technology. I only purchased my first so-called “smart phone” last October. And although I do keep up with changes in the music industry, and in fact consider myself progressive as far as those issues are concerned, I’m downright conservative when it […]