Thom Yorke and Radiohead made more money from independent digital distribution of their latest album online, charging whatever you were willing to pay, than from their entire catalog combined under their contract with EMI.
It seems that where the bricks & mortar music industry completely missed the boat on monetizing digital distribution fifteen years ago they are well ahead of the game screwing artists out of every dime these days.
Artists were screwed before, and doubly so now. Most contracts, rather than passing forward the money saved by obsolete terms like “shipping” and “breakage”, pay even less to artists than before.
I, for one, am surprised.
Not really.
Nor am I surprised at Radiohead’s success. The Beasties had similar success a few years ago when they ditched their label.
I figure that the majors are sick & bloated and ready to die. They won’t go quietly, and they will break as many consumers in court as they can on the way down.
Meanwhile, please make an effort to support independents through digital downloads. This is the revolution. The tipping point. Where we put the ornery old goat down and make way for brighter things.