MetalSucks

Seems my post about Earache’s 360 deal with Gama Bomb has set off quite a controversy. It inspired The Blogronaut (aka Sacha Dunable) to write a lengthy missive about why he thinks 360 deals aren’t worth it for musicians. That article in turn inspired The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley to leave a doozy of a response in the comments. At the heart of the matter, it seems, is whether record labels really have any value to bands now that “getting the record in stores” isn’t an issue, and if they do have value, what it is. Justin’s comment is damn brilliant and more or less exactly how I would’ve responded, so I’ll just re-post the whole thing here and offer a brief addition afterwards. Here goes:

Labels will continue to offer a few things.

First, they’ll act as tastemakers. Given the lower barriers for entry [i.e. cheap recording rigs / Garageband. -Ed.], more and more people are saying “fuck it, I want to be in a band”. Even with the ease of sharing and finding out about new music, the signal to noise ratio is low enough that bands need help connecting with their intended audience. When people know that they like the music a label puts out, they’ll naturally pay attention to a new affiliated act.

Second, while it’s easier to market and record music, it is still more expensive and time consuming to do it right rather than just do it. Labels should develop the marketing expertise to know where to spend money on a particular act. Maybe your money isn’t best spent on a Metalsucks banner ad, maybe it is. How do you know? (Note: the “you” here isn’t directed at the post’s author.)

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I understand that the music industry as we’ve known it is in somewhat of a bind. The ease of “illegal” downloading coupled with a crappy economy has cut off much of the flow of income a record label is built to generate. In this position, any sensible business would find a way to adapt in order to survive.

Last week I read about a certain metal label trying out something called a 360 deal, where instead of mainly collecting revenue from record sales or other intellectual property rights (publishing, licensing, etc.), the record label takes an agreed-upon cut of merchandise, concert ticket sales, and I suppose just about anything else having to do with the band. Actually I’m sure deals like this already existed, but this label got even more “WTF” with it and announced they would be giving this new band’s album out as a free download. I honestly think this is a great idea. Giving away the music for free since it holds little value to consumers, then sending the band on tour and collecting a decent percentage off nightly guarantees and t-shirt sales since people still pay full price for those – going where the money is. Sure, it’s a business.

What confuses me is how any band would be ok with this. They signed to a record label who isn’t actually putting out or distributing a record. They’re promoting intangible recorded material so that there’s a reason for the band to tour and sell stuff for them, while the band makes even less money on the things they would have been sustaining themselves on in an old school record deal. So, why do you need a record label then?

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In a move that’s seen relatively little press, Earache announced on Monday that they’ll be giving away the entirety of Gama Bomb’s new album Tales From The Grave In Space for free via Rapidshare.

Woah, what? For free?!?!? “But there’s money to be made on music sales!!” cry the industry curmudgeons. That sound I just heard was a certain old-school metal publicist screaming in disgust when she wasn’t even asked to.

This is the most forward-thinking business decision I’ve seen any metal label make to date. It’s absolutely groundbreaking, and Earache should be applauded. Now I’m going to tell you why in exactly 1,123 words.

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