Best way to support musicians without sending a penny to the RIAA?

[erikiksaz]

I've always loved music, and i always will. I believe in fully supporting artists for what they do. Not to say that i don't download music, but so far 99% of the stuff i downloaded (that i liked), i went out to a store to buy.

The only problem that i'm seeing with this is that i don't want to support the RIAA anymore. The last straw was with the little girl! Is there any other direct way of showing support to our musicians?

 

[Crazymofo]

concerts are the only way...

 

[jlee]

Buy used CDs...that may not support the musicians, but at least you're not paying the RIAA..

 

[Lithium381]

i want to download all the music and just send a check or something straight to the band and let them know what i've done, so they know i support them

 

[flexy]

Originally posted by: CadetLee
Buy used CDs...that may not support the musicians, but at least you're not paying the RIAA..

* find a way to get the thought into the heads of the RIAA, Sony, Virgin, EMI etc. that $20 for a CD is just TOO MUCH ?????

 

[fatbaby]

Originally posted by: Crazymofo
concerts are the only way...

The venues make the most off the concerts. They are mainly to promote the cd's.

CD costs like what, $.05 to make, sell for $19.99.

 

[apoppin]

1) Go to CONCERTS of the artists you like.
(the venues do NOT make the majority of the money)

2) Buy their used CDs.

3) Go to their web site and ASK.

4) Support INDEPENDENT labels and bands.

And boycott the RIAA on Black Friday in an as organized manner as you can find.

 

[erikiksaz]

Well, so far so good. Been buying used cds (unless i really can't wait!) and heading out to concerts when my pockets can spare the change!

 

[Crazymofo]

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: Crazymofo
concerts are the only way...

The venues make the most off the concerts. They are mainly to promote the cd's.

CD costs like what, $.05 to make, sell for $19.99.

concerts are the only place artists actually make the majority of the money collected...

 

[Tab]

Originally posted by: erikiksaz
The last straw was with the little girl! Is there any other direct way of showing support to our musicians?

May I ask why?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Crazymofo

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: Crazymofo
concerts are the only way...

The venues make the most off the concerts. They are mainly to promote the cd's.

CD costs like what, $.05 to make, sell for $19.99.

concerts are the only place artists actually make the majority of the money collected...

That's why artists constantly tour.

They sure don't make jack from the RIAA through album sales.

 

[MovingTarget]

I am in this same boat here. I simply refuse to help the riaa prosecute people in the manner that they do. I also do not want to succumb to their price-fixing of cds. I do support artists by going to concerts, but i feel guilty buying cd's because of the riaa. The artists do not get much of the money from cds anyway from how i understand it. If anyone has a really concrete answer to this thread, I'll be sure to follow their recommendations.

 

[Bulldozer]

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: Crazymofo
concerts are the only way...

The venues make the most off the concerts. They are mainly to promote the cd's.

CD costs like what, $.05 to make, sell for $19.99.

The venues don't make most of the money. There is a website that tells you how much it costs to get a band to come to your area (I think it is for colleges looking to get entertainment at their school). If I remember correctly DMB required $250,000+

I think they could make a very good living off of concerts. If they can't then they don't deserve the money.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: Crazymofo
concerts are the only way...

The venues make the most off the concerts. They are mainly to promote the cd's.

CD costs like what, $.05 to make, sell for $19.99.

A CD blank might cost that much but yer not paying $19.99 for a CD blank(and if you pay that much for a CD you need to shop around more). You are paying for the music on the disc. To put the music on the disc, replicate them and distribute them across America isn't cheap. Band members, insturements, recording studio (physical building/room the studio is in), audio equipment, computer harware/software, engineers to keep it all running, a producer (possible cost), someone to master the album (and all associated costs related to this), someone to create the album art and bookley layout, etc.,. You ever looked in back of the a CD booklet and seen all the people/studio's involved in createing that album?
And the venues are the last people to see profit from concerts. A typical example is the venue promoter pays the band X amount of money to come play at their venue. The venue then calculates how many people will attend and sets the ticket price accordingly. If ticket sales don't hit their mark the venue takes a loss for the concert.


Lethal

EDIT: Bulldozer, you also have to take into account the expenses of putting on a tour. Just the basics like paychecks, food, transportation, and housing for the crew for months on end isn't cheap and that's just the tip of the iceburg.

 

[Spudd]

Listen to their music for free on the radio and send inspirational fan mail to your favorite musician! The paper they collect can be used for making a fire to keep them warm during the winter months outside RIAA buildings.

 

[erikiksaz]

I think they could make a very good living off of concerts. If they can't then they don't deserve the money.

The funny thing is that i remember Wes from Limp Bizkit saying that tours don't pay the bills

I don't think he was messing around. But you know...that was LB, so who really cared

 

[fatbaby]

W00t! I love talking out of my a$$!

 

[Howard]

Download lossless rips of CDs and send a check for however much you think the music is worth directly to the artist(s).

 

[SludgeFactory]

I suppose fan club money and whatever crap you buy off their website goes straight to the artist.

Concerts are big business and the labels are beginning to move in on that.

a top concert draw can take home 35 percent of the night's gate and up to 50 percent of the dollar flow from merchandise sold at the show. The labels get none of it.

"The top 10 percent of artists make money selling records. The rest go on tour," says Scott Welch, who manages singers Alanis Morissette and LeAnn Rimes.

Now the music labels, hungry for revenue from any source, are mulling over whether to make a grab for a piece of the tour biz. One company already has: In October EMI Recorded Music signed a deal with Brit singer Robbie Williams that gives the label a cut of the pop star's merchandise, publishing, touring revenue and sponsorship.

 

[ethebubbeth]

e-mail the artist/group and ask them to accept paypal donations

 

[Soccer55]

Originally posted by: LethalWolfe

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: Crazymofo
concerts are the only way...

The venues make the most off the concerts. They are mainly to promote the cd's.

CD costs like what, $.05 to make, sell for $19.99.

A CD blank might cost that much but yer not paying $19.99 for a CD blank(and if you pay that much for a CD you need to shop around more). You are paying for the music on the disc. To put the music on the disc, replicate them and distribute them across America isn't cheap. Band members, insturements, recording studio (physical building/room the studio is in), audio equipment, computer harware/software, engineers to keep it all running, a producer (possible cost), someone to master the album (and all associated costs related to this), someone to create the album art and bookley layout, etc.,. You ever looked in back of the a CD booklet and seen all the people/studio's involved in createing that album?
And the venues are the last people to see profit from concerts. A typical example is the venue promoter pays the band X amount of money to come play at their venue. The venue then calculates how many people will attend and sets the ticket price accordingly. If ticket sales don't hit their mark the venue takes a loss for the concert.


Lethal

EDIT: Bulldozer, you also have to take into account the expenses of putting on a tour. Just the basics like paychecks, food, transportation, and housing for the crew for months on end isn't cheap and that's just the tip of the iceburg.

Here is a good article by Courtney Love about the costs associated with recording a CD. I know it's from 2000 and probably everyone has read it already, but I think it's a good thing to see that at least some of the artists realize how ridiculous the RIAA is and that there is a need for change. I don't mind paying $15 for a CD as long as the artist is actually going to see a good portion of that money. When I buy a CD, I'm buying the CD to support the artist because I like their music.....not a greedy organization like the RIAA that just wants to profit off of other people's work.

-Tom

 

[Crazymofo]

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
I suppose fan club money and whatever crap you buy off their website goes straight to the artist.

Concerts are big business and the labels are beginning to move in on that.

a top concert draw can take home 35 percent of the night's gate and up to 50 percent of the dollar flow from merchandise sold at the show. The labels get none of it.

"The top 10 percent of artists make money selling records. The rest go on tour," says Scott Welch, who manages singers Alanis Morissette and LeAnn Rimes.

Now the music labels, hungry for revenue from any source, are mulling over whether to make a grab for a piece of the tour biz. One company already has: In October EMI Recorded Music signed a deal with Brit singer Robbie Williams that gives the label a cut of the pop star's merchandise, publishing, touring revenue and sponsorship.

Figures fricking greedy bastards!!:|

 

[pennylane]

I like the buy used idea.

 

[misle]

Yeah, venues don't make a lot of money off of bands.

Our largest club about holds 800-1000 people. Standard division of money is 70% band, 30% venue. When big bands come through town, they negociate a better deal, especially if they can guarantee a sale out night.

Average concert at this venue: $15
Band makes $10.50 (70%) per ticket sold => $10,500
Venus makes $4.50 (30%) per ticket sold => $4,500

If the band gets local bands to open, they get $50 and free beer.

So you can imagine what they make per night at a large venue.

 

[Kadarin]

What about mp3.com's old business model, prior to being bought out by (I think) Universal? They'd encourage musicians to make their music available for streaming and/or download, and they would pay each artist a set amount per download or stream. There used to be a lot of good music on that site that has since been taken down, and it used to be an excellent way to discover new music (in the electronica genres, anyway.. I never focused on other types of music while there.)