The best things in life are free...

I don't know if anyone outside the band ever reads this. Perhaps my mother (hello Mummy). Just in case someone does, I thought it would be interesting to post an email that Tommy sent us recently. It's about money. He rightly has certain grievances about our attitude to money, and the making of it via rock and roll. I think it's an interesting part of the debate about how a small band ought to approach the idea that they might be able to live off playing guitar and singing. So here it is:

I feel I need to explain myself about my ranting about CD selling etc. and general money chat. I haven't made my thoughts very clear on the subject, because it's not fun, and I get a sense that you will all disagree with me. I accept that much of the things I have suggested regarding money are "token", and not particularly profitable. I feel that this is as a result of me compromising between what I think is the best thing to do, and what you guys think is the best thing to do. I'm afraid this isn't just about whether we should charge for the Burrows CD or not, but about longer term issues.

Ultimately, and basically, I want to play, record, and make music, and be paid for it. If I'm paid, I can keep doing music, otherwise, I need to divert my time away to other work. I'm assuming that this is a position we all share.

I have some doubts about our assumption that getting signed by a record company is the best, even the most realistic course of action. I definitely think that it is a good idea to pursue it at this stage, but I don't think we have considered the alternative, which is to do it ourselves. Even if we don't end up doing it entirely ourselves, we can learn a great deal just by trying.

I think this is important because the music industry is changing fast. The traditional deal between labels and artists was that the artists got royalties for each song sold. This could be as little as 5% of the street price of an album. In return for their cut, they would do a lot of the hard work, and put in the capital to launch artists into the limelight. The royalty structure tends to make the record label the boss, and the artist subservient to its wishes. This kind of thing, as I'm sure you are aware has gotten some record labels a bad reputation, though they might get the job done.

A new kind of business model is emerging. Some record labels are taking the approach of splitting profits, as opposed to royalties with the artists. EMI have launched a label in this way, as have ninjatune, with its famous 50-50 profit sharing policy. This is a more collaborative approach. It does mean that the artist has to be a little business savvy, since they will be involved in the money making/losing decisions. One of the reasons why we might be suited to this kind of deal is because we can do so many things in-house. We can record, mix, make artwork, websites and even film quite effectively between just the 4 of us. More importantly, we know what is good and what is bad when it comes to music, graphics and film. That's a lot
of expenses that the potential record label can save, (producer, graphic artist, photographer, director?) making us an attractive
investment from a business point of view, leaving music aside for a moment.

I can't accept that we should leave music to us, the band, and business to the labels. They are not separate issues. We need to
make money from our music, so we can keep doing it. I can't imagine a record label just making money for us, without it being costly in artistic and financial terms. I think we should start learning how to make money now, because it's what we want to do ultimately.

The time I spend recording with you guys, and the time I spend mixing is not cheap to me, not to mention the gear I have been accumulating over the years. I'm sure this is the case with all of you too. This reality is starting to bite into my wallet. Don't assume that getting signed is going to solve all these problems. I know a band who have been signed and dropped (by Rough Trade) with hardly any recompense.

My "CD selling obsession" is really only symptomatic of these thoughts. I accept that my money making schemes are fairly token and ineffective, but I feel like I'm on my own here. It's as if you think it's distasteful to deal with money. That's why my suggestions are so watered down. I didn't think that charging money for a CD that you can download free anyway was going to be all that contentious.

Sorry that it's turned into an essay, but it had to be said. Money is the looming elephant in the room, and someone had to bring it up.

Tommy

If anyone's bothered to get to the bottom of this, you are rewarded with a free cd. Just don't ask Tommy for it.

p.s. The picture at the top is by Duncan grant.