Since I started writing this blog, I have put together a list of websites that I usually check each day. Sometimes the information grabs my interest and I share the information. Other times I find it interesting but know it is not relevant for this site. Then, sometimes the site is of no interest at all.
One of the sites I check each day is Digital Music News. Paul Resniloff is the founder and publisher of Digital Music News. A graduate of Stanford University, Paul started out at Epic Records (Sony Music Entertainment) in New York. He also worked at Lycos and managed relationships with many of the major music labels
DMN published two interesting articles in the last few weeks. Both of them are interesting to Clay Aiken fans because they report some real facts about how important money is to becoming a musical star
On Friday, August 12th, Paul wrote a short article about the costs of releasing a pop album. The graphic says it all.
In July, there was an interesting article about how much money it takes to produce a hit song.
How Much Does a Hit Song Cost Anyway? Try $1,078,000…
That’s according to NPR, which polled a number of industry experts to determine the real cost behind a top-charting hit. In this case, it was Rihanna’s recently-created “Man Down,” a big-budget, blockbuster-style blowout that remains unproven.
Seem ridiculous? Indeed, the cost includes a small army of writers (an ‘all-star writing camp’), costs related to ‘flying the artist around’ and of course, ‘courting radio programmers with fancy dinners’. All part of a big-label, big-budget style that seems reserved for the tiniest cadre of artists. “It was at least forty guys out there,” said writer Ray Daniels, referring to the camp, which also involved several high-end studio rentals. “I was shocked at how much money they were spending!”
Actually, one of the biggest chunks goes to radio – or more specifically, buying a slot in the rotations of various conglomerates (whatever the kickback mechanism or influence vehicle). That validates information from earlier sources to Digital Music News, who note that getting mainstream radio rotation is virtually impossible these days without major label backing.
I bolded the last paragraph…I knew that an artist didn’t have a chance in the world to get on the radio without some incentives, but…WOW!!
All of this certainly makes you think. No wonder Clay Aiken is taking a vacation. For a man of integrity, the life of a recording star must be amazingly stressful.
I do hope you will check out Digital Music News. Paul posts articles every day and keeps them short and to the point. Of course, as in any site, you can read and then put it all in perspective. What do you think? Does this data surprise you?