Week Two 1/12-1/16

"Whats the Real Cost of a Major Deal?"

     Basically, all new rappers are "lighting up like California fires in the same spot" looking to get a major deal. Major labels offer services such as marketing, distribution, sales, advertising, legal, shipping and merchandising. This is why they take such a large cut of the profits although they do give a much larger budget to record an album. In contrast, independent labels are privately owned and take less profit from the artist's earning but also give a much smaller budget for the album. Major labels are typically known as the "mainstream/commercialized" artists as opposed to indie labels that are typically known to be "hipster/unique/underground" artists. 

"The problem is that new artists often get peanuts on their percentages in exchange for fame. Who wants to be a broke but famous star?"

"Take it from Courtney Love, who's seen both the good and the ugly side of major deals. "If a record company has a reason to exist, it has to bring an artist's music to more fans and it has to deliver more and better music to the audience. You bring me a bigger audience or a better relationship with my audience or get the f--k out of my way."

    I feel that major labels definitely work for the new artist who is focused on getting exposure and who does not have sufficient funds to do so. Independent labels are more for the artist that wants to reach a specific target audience to boost their fan base. Some artists start off with indie labels before moving on to major labels, although many choose not to because it is simply not necessary. 

Source:
What's the Real Cost of a Major Deal?

Citation:
Adaso, Henry. "What's the Real Cost of a Record Deal?" Rap.about.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.