FOLIO
In a recent piece in The Guardian titled “The internet will suck all creative content out of the world” — no subtlety in headlines across the pond, is there? — David Byrne (of the Talking Heads, of course) argues that streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, while good for labels and great for consumers, pay such a miniscule amount of revenue to artists that it’s killing artistry.
He’s not alone. Radiohead singer Thom Yorke famously called Spotify “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse,” referring to its relationship to the major labels. Garth Brooks, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Tool all refuse to carry their music on streaming services. In 2013, Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven mastermind David Lowery wrote a screed about how, although his hit “Low,” which he co-wrote, had been played more than 1 million times on Pandora, he’d been paid a pathetic $16.83 in royalties. And most recently, gajillionairess Taylor Swift, who’s been on top for nine years and counting, publicly pulled all of her music off Spotify, explaining that “I think there should be an inherent value placed on art.” (Her newest album has climbed back in the No. 1 spot, BTW.)
Taylor Swift hardly exemplifies the poor, put-upon artist; she doesn’t need to offer her music for free (or nearly free) in return for wider exposure.
The same, however, cannot be said for bands just starting out. Jimmi Bayer, owner of Infintesmal Records and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist in the Jacksonville-based Memphibians, says that he was a digital holdout until realizing that “we were never going to win that battle.”
Bayer’s label has released an impressive 44 albums to date, including efforts by such local artists as Hand Sand Hands, C.W. Martin and I Hope You’re a Doctor.
“I’m personally very proud of our catalog as an archive of the finest underground music that’s rattled the walls of Duval dives over the past six years,” he says. “When we started the label, we were always committed to a physical product. We didn’t want downloads. We were clinging desperately to our nostalgic principles of what made good music.”
Yet, like anything that moves forward, change is necessary.
All 44 Infintesmal releases are now available for digital download via Bandcamp — some for as low as $3 and $5 each. “Bandcamp seemed like the most legit, as well as convenient, of all options available,” Bayer explains. “In the chance that somebody decides to purchase and support your music, the money goes to the artist.”
Local hip-hop artist, music promoter and all-around Renaissance man Mr. Al Pete has been on the Jacksonville scene since the mid-2000s. He’s also co-founder of GrownFolk Entertainment and DJs and emcees locally at spots like 1904 Music Hall, Underbelly and Duke’s Place Blues Bar & Lounge.
For Mr. Al Pete, releasing his music via digital download is a “necessary evil.” In October 2014, he offered his mixtape Evelyn Flow 2 for free on his website and Bandcamp.
“It was a hold-up until I finished my studio album, G3.5, a collaborative album with producer and film director Notsucal,” Mr. Al Pete says of his New Year’s release. “Plus, I think it’s cool to have a ‘lyrical exercise’ and give the folks that admire your work something to hold on to that doesn’t require funds until you have something concrete — the difference between mixtapes and studio albums.”
For Mr. Al Pete, giving away a tease to build up buzz before a release is worth the lack of a payday. In fact, he makes significantly more money from the business side of his musical persona than from the music itself.
“I have other avenues where I make money from doing music, and honestly, the emcee side of Mr. Al Pete doesn’t draw as much as the DJ/business side of Mr. Al Pete,” he says. “Granted, I want to get to a position where I make some good money off being a hip-hop artist, but as far as what my lane is now? Yeah, I understand that and act accordingly to it.”
“It’s slowly becoming a chicken-or-the-egg-type situation, but I’d have to say [the digital-music revolution is] definitely helping more musicians to be heard,” says Bayer. “But that has its own side effects, though. I think there’s a healthy debate on oversaturation versus exposure. As music becomes more expendable to society, the value of local music or identity seems to suffer a bit.”
Sure, big-time artists are fighting for more control and a bigger piece of the pie. But local, independent artists don’t lose sleep over royalties.
“Most of the people complaining about these lacks of royalties seem to be people backed by major corporations, which may seem a little backwards,” says Bayer. “With the Internet leveling the playing field so drastically, it’s put a lot of musicians on a similar digital level.”
Take Grant Nielsen of local alt-folk band JacksonVegas, for example. He says that it’s delusional to think, as a musician, that your music won’t be found for free at one point or another. “If your music is sought after, people are gonna steal it,” he says. “The best thing you can do as an artist is to inspire them to be honest, or to give them enough incentives not to steal it in the first place.” And while Nielsen uses tools like Bandcamp and Soundcloud to put out tunes, he’s never been “famous enough to feel the sting” of having content hijacked on a grander scale.
Bayer believes that it ultimately still comes down to creative quality rather than convenience or quantity.
“If your records are terrible, uninspired, glorified promotional tools, they will still sound like that long after you’ve gone,” Bayer says. “I may be a little behind on the digital end of things, but I believe in honest, sometimes filthy, always passionate recordings. Go ahead and put my Bandcamp URL on my headstone. And if one of those Spotify checks ever shows up, you may be able to buy a couple flowers as well.”
Follow FOLIO!