Royalty fees in the record industry
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/60991p-57008c.html offers an interesting case study on a band that basically received no pay for their great contribution to a record label’s profits. The 15 % royalty fee the band, Grunthead, received turned into an even greater expense in the long run, when they had to pay for other deductions and costs. This case demonstrates the large gap in profits between producers and artists. It is debatable as to how much each participant in the production of an album should receive, but it seems as the though the artist should receive much more than 15% with no strings attached. For each artist to only receive about $40,000 after producing a gross profit of over $6,000,000 is not only unreasonable, it is almost as drastic as stealing ones fortune. The artist produces the music, while the producer puts the artist’s work into production. It is true that a label can be solely responsible for the fame and recognition of an artist, yet that should not serve as a reason to basically steal the artist’s profits. This large gap should and eventually will close as the artist seeks to utilize more independent labels that serve to maximize profits for the artist as well as the producer.
Comments