It’s easy to write Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan off as the typical whiny ageing rock star fading into irrelevance. But listen to what he has to say here, his points on the gulf between the indie world and the mainstream could not be further from the truth.
Having a barcode for your CD release
If you are independently releasing an Album with potential for sale in record stores, having a barcode on your CD or Vynil is a must.
At first glance it appears that in order to obtain a barcode for retail sale you must go through “official” channels to acquire one. The official organisation issuing GTINs is the Global Standards Body, otherwise known as GS1. However, the codes don’t come cheap. GS1 Australia charge a membership fee of $120 and annual fee of $120, that’s $240 for the first year and $120 for each subsequent year. Pretty heavy lifting for an independent artist working part time at a coffee shop.
But the plot thickens. Prior to 2002 there were no rules to prevent barcode owners from selling their codes to a third party. The first organisations to sell their prefixes were in fact record labels selling to independent bands in the United States. GS1’s grip tightened in 2002 and the rules changed; no sales to third parties & ongoing membership fees. A class action lawsuit was brought against them by companies wanting to continue to sell their unused codes. Those companies won an out of court settlement. As a result sites like Oz Barcodes can offer codes for a fraction of the cost.
Most large chain retailers like Wal-Mart for instance require suppliers to be members of GS1 to take in your product, thus maintaining the GS1 standard. However older codes from resellers are more suited to smaller, independent retailers who do not have agreements with GS1.
Crowdfunding. Evidence that music is unsustainable for the artist.
It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of a crowdfunded album, especially for fans of upcoming local acts who haven’t quite “made it” yet.
The state of the industry is such that bands and soloists have to turn to this medium to do what is actually their single most important career aspect, recording and releasing music. Sites like Pozible and Kickstarter and the growing numbers of artists signing on is unfortunate proof that the artist is in a no win situation.
Taking for instance a local act I know of. The band is constantly on tour, now on youth radio rotation, recently toured in support for a big national act and won a state newspaper award for all their efforts. I spoke briefly with the lead singer at another show, gave kudos for recent radio play and asked about the latest tour (with the big national act).
“Actually, that left me out of pocket about three grand”.
See once you factor in the tickets, venue hire, public liability insurance, flights (with amps, drums & keyboards), accommodation and food the artist comes up short. This tour in particular failed (unusually) to sell out at each venue, but still the attendance was good, 50 short of sold out here, 40 short there. These gigs looked like a success to anyone in attendance and anyone watching from the confines of social networks. However a publicly perceived “successful” tour is usually a break even situation for the band. The touring agent and venue on the other hand, they get their due. Has the Enmore Theatre or Tivoli ever really lost out? No, hire agreements are drawn up to ensure the venue gets their hire fee, successful show or not. The artist’s management and artist end up out of pocket.
This artist by all accounts has been “almost there”, in perpetuity for the last two years. But following a great amount of “success” he still needs to beg his fans (and friends) for change online just to finish off a couple of songs. Of course, the fan doesn’t mind, and is more than happy to help. But where does this stop? If he secures the $20,000 to polish off an EP and do a video how can he expect to make a return on his fans investment? Most of the die hards have already paid. When the next tour rolls around (in two months), how many can be expected to turn up? How long before the next Kickstarter “experiment” is needed?
It’s not that I recommend against using these services, especially if you have a healthy fanbase willing to toss some coin your way, but it begs the question, why do bands have to? Because the current system is inherently unfair to the artist.
Music Industry Insider 