OT - Musicians Fighting Back

[skinsguy]

Just seeing what you guys think of this. Would you take out a membership?


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Roger Scott Craig has been writing songs for almost forty years now. He has written hundreds of songs and played on thousands of tracks and his numerous bands include LIVERPOOL EXPRESS, FORTUNE, HARLAN CAGE, and 101 SOUTH. Roger is very proud of his work and his many songwriting partners include the wonderful singers BILLY KINSLEY, LARRY GREENE and GREGORY LYNN HALL.

But "THERE WAS ALWAYS A PROBLEM WITH THE MONEY" and with all this 'success' around the world you would think Roger would be a wealthy man in 2008. Well no he is not and in fact Roger has only made $1789.23 from the 'classic' FORTUNE album. And not much more from the Liverpool Express songs that were so successful in the 70s. And not much from either Harlan Cage or 101 South.

You see There was always a problem with the money. So, where did the money go? Not to Roger, or Billy or Larry or Gregory! No, it went into somebody else's pocket and how come the public don't seem to realize that this was what was going on? When they purchased a Liverpool Express album all the money went to the record company. So when Liverpool Express had three huge hits in Brazil how much money ended up in Roger and Billy's pockets? Not very much!!

Over the years companies like Warner Brothers and MCA and Sony Records made all the money. But it is the same old story from musicians everywhere. Big success around the world BUT no money coming from their record sales! Does this seem very fair to you??

Every single professional musician seems to have the same old story to tell and yet for some reason the public seems to think that Roger and Billy and Larry and Gregory are all now driving around in big white Rolls Royce's when in fact they are driving around in ten year old Volvos! Yep, and these Volvos may have worn tires and the car may be in need of a tune up. And maybe Roger has no money to pay for it!!

Well, Madonna may be driving around in a brand new Rolls Royce but she is probably in what Roger calls the "0.5% CLUB" and it is a very small group of musicians who actually make some money from their record sales. 99.5% of musicians make almost no money from their record sales and you will find that $1789,23 is the same old story over and over again. The "0.5% CLUB" is used by the media to 'brainwash' people into thinking that all Rock Stars are extraordinarily RICH when in fact the opposite is the TRUTH! They are POOR!

People have to understand that all the money used to make a new album is 'loaned out' to musicians but this money has to be paid back to the record company using an extremely unfair contract which gives the band maybe 6% of the money collected by the record company. But the band has to pay this money back to the record company (at 6%) and this includes ALL the expenses accrued from the making of the new album. Pay back all the related costs such as advertising and promotion, recording costs, producer fees, mastering costs, equipment purchases and equipment rentals too. Car rentals and money for travel expenses. The list goes on and on but what really happens is that this $1789.23 is usually what is left over after paying back all these expenses back to the record company. So the Record company gets 94% and the musician usually makes about 0.5% and that equates to $1789.23!

Well that is all about to change with the exclusive new MFBCLUB which is being started 'BY MUSICIANS FOR MUSICIANS.' It is the new business model for the music industry. It is a new 'iTunes for musicians' but it will be ONLY good music. No RAP, no TECHNO, no GRUNGE or disposable DANCE music. Musicians will finally be able to sell directly to their fans using the Internet thereby eliminating the MIDDLE MAN (the record company). They will make some great new music for the fans BUT they will not release the new album until they have received what they consider to be 'fair compensation' for their work. Because when a musician like Roger releases his new CD, this CD will soon end up being available for free to the whole world using an Illegal file sharing site. People getting Roger's work for free. Then these 'fans' burn lots of CDs for their friends and relatives. And musicians see no money from these people either.

The MFB CLUB is all about membership. It is for members only and these members will be the true music fans. Fans who do not like Britney Spears and Hannah Montana. Fans who still want to hear great music but just can't find ANY good music on the radio in 2008. Well, MFB will be ALL about great new music made by musicians who actually know how to sing and how to play their musical instruments. They come from the generation raised on great music. Music made by bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Who. Music that is still played thirty or forty years later and music with some lasting quality. JUST GREAT MUSIC!

So where are these types of bands in 2008?? Where is the new Moody Blues or even the Alan Parsons bands?? Are they out there somewhere? Well, yes they are out there but not one record company will be even remotely interested in signing them. Could Pink Floyd get a record deal in 2008? Probably not! How many record companies passed on the amazing singer Eva Cassidy who had to work in landscaping because not one record company would sign her. And then 50 million record sales later Eva found out too late that her music was loved by the world. But not by the record companies. They obviously thought Eva had no real talent. And they were wrong.

VERY WRONG

So MFB is a new movement

BY MUSICIANS FOR MUSICIANS

GIVING THE MUSIC BUSINESS BACK TO THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY MAKE THE MUSIC

THE MUSICIANS

AND SO SAY GOODBYE TO RECORD COMPANIES FOR EVER

SAY GOODBYE TO THESE MIDDLE MEN

AND GOOD RIDDANCE TO THEM

BECAUSE MFB IS NOW LOOKING FOR THE NEXT EVA CASSIDY, THE NEXT JAMES TAYLOR

AND WE DON'T CARE WHAT PEOPLE LOOK LIKE OR WHETHER THEY CAN DANCE OR NOT

AND MAYBE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO LIP SYNC?

THEY CAN BE OVERWEIGHT, OLD AND SMELLY TOO

BECAUSE ALL WE CARE ABOUT IS THE MUSIC

JUST GREAT MUSIC



MFBCLUB.COM

THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

MUSICIANS TAKING CHARGE OF THEIR OWN MUSIC

MUSICIANS TAKING CHARGE OF THEIR BUSINESS

NO MORE MIDDLE MAN

MFBCLUB.COM

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What do you think guys? Is this something you would be interested in?

[Don]

Isn't this like CDBaby. Go straight through them and pocket a good portion of the profit. The bad part is advertising comes mostly out of the artists pocket.

[skinsguy]

Isn't this like CDBaby. Go straight through them and pocket a good portion of the profit. The bad part is advertising comes mostly out of the artists pocket.

Roger has mentioned CDBaby. What is CDBaby like? Is there a membership?

[Voyager]

Good post. It shows exactly why I went into business for myself instead of pursuing a music career. The majority of excellent musicians never make any money from their music. They spend more on gear and promotion than they ever get back. Hell, I probably make more per year right now than Eddie Money does, and he is a household name! Even Brad Delp was hardly making anything from all of the great Boston music that he sang on. Here he was a huge rock star and living in a middle class neighborhood making pigeon feed as earnings. No wonder he killed himself!

If you want to make money - get a real job and keep your music as a hobby like I did.

www.MySpace.com/JohnCotaSoloArtist

(Pardon the shameless self-promotion. Hey, it's cheap. LOL!)

[Don]

Isn't this like CDBaby. Go straight through them and pocket a good portion of the profit. The bad part is advertising comes mostly out of the artists pocket.

Roger has mentioned CDBaby. What is CDBaby like? Is there a membership?

Here is their info page

http://cdbaby.com/about

[Michigan Girl]

Good post. It shows exactly why I went into business for myself instead of pursuing a music career. The majority of excellent musicians never make any money from their music. They spend more on gear and promotion than they ever get back. Hell, I probably make more per year right now than Eddie Money does, and he is a household name! Even Brad Delp was hardly making anything from all of the great Boston music that he sang on. Here he was a huge rock star and living in a middle class neighborhood making pigeon feed as earnings. No wonder he killed himself!

If you want to make money - get a real job and keep your music as a hobby like I did.

www.MySpace.com/JohnCotaSoloArtist

(Pardon the shameless self-promotion. Hey, it's cheap. LOL!)

...but good stuff!!!

[skinsguy]

So with this new club, would it be something that you guys, as fans, would consider doing? Here are a few things that he told me you would get with your membership:

3 New CDs
Video dairies of the band members making the CD.
He even mentioned the fans giving input in the direction of the CDs...etc...

It would be a $45 annual fee, but you'd have access to digital downloads of the music plus all the other VIP content.

There will be CDs available to the fans initially when they join. I think he is going to have all the Harlan Cage, Fortune and the new Fortune II that is coming out (I think Andrew had a news article on that,) all the 101 South and the new 101 South that Roger and his band has just completed. Also, the new Blue Skies Project that he is in the process of making will only be available through MFBCLUB. And on a side note, Roger has been trying to recruit some top notch singers to appear on this project. While I have no idea if this will be possible, he is hoping to possibly get in touch with Steve Perry to do a guest appearance. He doesn't live very far from Perry, and I think he has sent Steve a copy of the 101 South CD through a mutual fan. Just saying, if he did happen to get Perry on this project, it would only be sold through this club.

In order to make a top quality melodic rock album, these artists need at least about a $50,000 budget. Roger has been doing these albums on budgets of $15,000 and less. The goal would be to get at least an initial 1000 people to join MFB. So far, he's got a few who have already joined, and the website isn't even up yet! But, if 1000 people can join initially, that would give Roger and the other artists who will be placing their work on MFB the proper budget to make a really high quality, highly produced melodic rock album.

So, I guess I am needing as much feedback from you guys as I can possibly get. I need to know what you guys think of this setup. Is something you would be interested in? If not, what would you guys suggest that would make the fans happy, as well as allow the artists to get paid enough to support their craft? Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[G.I.Jim]

Good post. It shows exactly why I went into business for myself instead of pursuing a music career. The majority of excellent musicians never make any money from their music. They spend more on gear and promotion than they ever get back. Hell, I probably make more per year right now than Eddie Money does, and he is a household name! Even Brad Delp was hardly making anything from all of the great Boston music that he sang on. Here he was a huge rock star and living in a middle class neighborhood making pigeon feed as earnings. No wonder he killed himself!

If you want to make money - get a real job and keep your music as a hobby like I did.

www.MySpace.com/JohnCotaSoloArtist

(Pardon the shameless self-promotion. Hey, it's cheap. LOL!)

Hey man, good job on the tunes! I'm with you as far as keeping a real job too! I'd never make 1/10th what I make now as a musician. I just do it for the love of it, and because it's a great outlet for me.

I've probably invested $25000 in gear alone, not to mention about 12 to $13000 in cd's! I've probably made 4 to $5000 back. To be honest though, I never play out anymore...don't have the time. The last band I played out with was Frontiers, and that was 2 or 3 years ago. I just plug away at my songwriting here at the house and work on several recording projects. I love it!

[Don]

Good post. It shows exactly why I went into business for myself instead of pursuing a music career. The majority of excellent musicians never make any money from their music. They spend more on gear and promotion than they ever get back. Hell, I probably make more per year right now than Eddie Money does, and he is a household name! Even Brad Delp was hardly making anything from all of the great Boston music that he sang on. Here he was a huge rock star and living in a middle class neighborhood making pigeon feed as earnings. No wonder he killed himself!

If you want to make money - get a real job and keep your music as a hobby like I did.

www.MySpace.com/JohnCotaSoloArtist

(Pardon the shameless self-promotion. Hey, it's cheap. LOL!)

Hey man, good job on the tunes! I'm with you as far as keeping a real job too! I'd never make 1/10th what I make now as a musician. I just do it for the love of it, and because it's a great outlet for me.

I've probably invested $25000 in gear alone, not to mention about 12 to $13000 in cd's! I've probably made 4 to $5000 back. To be honest though, I never play out anymore...don't have the time. The last band I played out with was Frontiers, and that was 2 or 3 years ago. I just plug away at my songwriting here at the house and work on several recording projects. I love it!

Not to be nosey, because I am being nosey, but since you're in the service, don't you get sent anywhere? Do you have a mandatory one year remote like I had in the Air Force, or TDY's to other stations? I'm just curious.

[G.I.Jim]

Good post. It shows exactly why I went into business for myself instead of pursuing a music career. The majority of excellent musicians never make any money from their music. They spend more on gear and promotion than they ever get back. Hell, I probably make more per year right now than Eddie Money does, and he is a household name! Even Brad Delp was hardly making anything from all of the great Boston music that he sang on. Here he was a huge rock star and living in a middle class neighborhood making pigeon feed as earnings. No wonder he killed himself!

If you want to make money - get a real job and keep your music as a hobby like I did.

www.MySpace.com/JohnCotaSoloArtist

(Pardon the shameless self-promotion. Hey, it's cheap. LOL!)

Hey man, good job on the tunes! I'm with you as far as keeping a real job too! I'd never make 1/10th what I make now as a musician. I just do it for the love of it, and because it's a great outlet for me.

I've probably invested $25000 in gear alone, not to mention about 12 to $13000 in cd's! I've probably made 4 to $5000 back. To be honest though, I never play out anymore...don't have the time. The last band I played out with was Frontiers, and that was 2 or 3 years ago. I just plug away at my songwriting here at the house and work on several recording projects. I love it!

Not to be nosey, because I am being nosey, but since you're in the service, don't you get sent anywhere? Do you have a mandatory one year remote like I had in the Air Force, or TDY's to other stations? I'm just curious.

Hey man, that's not being nosey at all! I'm on permanent orders in recruiting and retention. I'm actually the only recruiter that's been a recruiter here since before 9/11. I've been doing recruiting now for about 7 1/2 years, and love it. I haven't always been one though, and have done infantry, supply, preventive medicine specialist and engineering. I like to be well rounded!

So to answer your question, I'm actually non-deployable now because of my position. I tried to volunteer to go help after the hurricane hit New Orleans, but they said I wouldn't have a job waiting for me when I came back...I didn't need to help THAT badly!

[Don]

That explains it. I forgot about Special Duty Assignments ( Recruiting , Drill instructor, Post Office, etc.)
7years, wow, you're obviously very good at what you do.

[G.I.Jim]

That explains it. I forgot about Special Duty Assignments ( Recruiting , Drill instructor, Post Office, etc.)
7years, wow, you're obviously very good at what you do.

No...I've never been a hotshot recruiter. I just do my job, and I'm always very up-front and honest with the people I recruit. I've been lied to by every recruiter I've dealt with in my career, and I vowed to make a difference. My entire chain of command has always known me as probably the most honest person in recruiting. Other recruiters come and go, and most of them get in trouble for doing something stupid. I can sleep peacefully at night knowing that I've treated people the way I'd like to be treated, and have never lied to my applicants.

Not saying I'm better than the other recruiters I work with because I'm not (I have issues of my own!), but most of them are like used car salesman (no offense to car salesman, but you know what I mean). Some recruiters will tell people anything they want to hear to get their way...almost like the presidential candidates.

[Andrew]

Hard for me to comment on this one - being that I run a record label and would love to have Roger as part of that. But the business is complictaed and earnings are down.

If he can make this model work for him - more power to him. It has to be a best fit situation and what suits each individual artist.

Roger's been on at me all week to call him, just haven't had the time. Must do that Monday.

[G.I.Jim]

Hard for me to comment on this one - being that I run a record label and would love to have Roger as part of that. But the business is complictaed and earnings are down.

If he can make this model work for him - more power to him. It has to be a best fit situation and what suits each individual artist.

Roger's been on at me all week to call him, just haven't had the time. Must do that Monday.

Congratulations on signing Andreas by the way Andrew! He's very talented.

[FishinMagician]

sounds cool for the most part. exept calling rap and techno bad

[skinsguy]

Hard for me to comment on this one - being that I run a record label and would love to have Roger as part of that. But the business is complictaed and earnings are down.

If he can make this model work for him - more power to him. It has to be a best fit situation and what suits each individual artist.

Roger's been on at me all week to call him, just haven't had the time. Must do that Monday.

Please give him a call Andrew. I think it might be quite beneficial for you.

[Andrew]

Hard for me to comment on this one - being that I run a record label and would love to have Roger as part of that. But the business is complictaed and earnings are down.

If he can make this model work for him - more power to him. It has to be a best fit situation and what suits each individual artist.

Roger's been on at me all week to call him, just haven't had the time. Must do that Monday.

Please give him a call Andrew. I think it might be quite beneficial for you.

I plan on it...I'm all for helping musicians in whatever way I can.

[lowdbrent]

Isn't this like CDBaby. Go straight through them and pocket a good portion of the profit. The bad part is advertising comes mostly out of the artists pocket.

Roger has mentioned CDBaby. What is CDBaby like? Is there a membership?

1st of all, if he got a bad deal, that is because he is a bad negotiator. Name one business on this planet where the innovator always get's what he should for an idea, for a solution, for true spark of genius? NONE. It is never handed to you. You must negotiate for it. Now if the label or artist that this guy wrote for was not that wealthy, then that is his fault as well. I say all of this because there are some VERY wealthy song writers! There are some writers in Nashville that make more than the artists do because they are a recoupable expense.

2nd, there have been many attempts to recreate the music industry. Some of these were started by Peter Gabriel and others. But the facts are the same for them as they are for anyone else. It takes talent, great songs, exposure to the masses, marketing, advertisements, touring, etc. All of this costs lots of money. When someone cracks how to do this for free, then we will have a new business model. Until then, the old one is all we have. It will change some, like where we buy, how we buy, what format we buy, but the nuts and bolts will never change. Any musician run organization is doomed. Musicians are not good business people, as this songwriter guy testifies. Musos should not have to be. They should be the artists with their mindsets, untangled by the stuff they suck at.

3rd. CDBaby is not a subscription service per se. It is owned by a company that owns some of the largest CD pressing houses. Basically, CDBaby allows indies to host music on their site, host a webpage, and use other tools. CDBaby also takes internet and telephone orders, processes payments and submits all of the music to all of the major digital downloading services. If a muso presses at the company plant, there is no fee. No customer pays a fee either.

The problem with CDBaby is the same with any site. The band must still generate the public interest and steer people there. If I am going to do that, I am going to steer them to my own site.