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Business Models

by Mike Masnick

Thu, Sep 30th 2010 12:22pm




Filed Under:
business models, comics, radiohead model


If The Major Record Labels Tried To Adopt The 'Radiohead' Model...

from the laugh,-it's-funny dept

A whole bunch of you have been sending in the recent Toothpaste for Dinner cartoon about how the RIAA/major record labels would "adopt the Radiohead model" if they ever really thought about it:
While it is amusing, there's a lot of truth behind that comic (which is part of what makes it funny). We keep seeing people misleadingly claim that if you talk about "free" in one context, you must mean everything should be free. That kind of thinking comes out of the labels all too often, so you could totally see them saying that "well, if pay what you want is supposed to work for buying music, why not for paying people..."

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  1.  
    icon
    Rikuo (profile), Sep 30th, 2010 @ 12:28pm

    But haven't the record labels/collection agencies already done this, by deliberately keeping money that is supposed to go to the artists?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
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    Zacqary Adam Green (profile), Sep 30th, 2010 @ 12:52pm

    It's funny because it's already true.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
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    Jay (profile), Sep 30th, 2010 @ 1:28pm

    Hello radios

    We already have that model.

    It's called payola. It's why FM radio is down in the dumpster in regards to actual music to discover new artists.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    Karl, Sep 30th, 2010 @ 2:13pm

    If??!?!

    The record labels are *already* doing this, and have been for as long as I can remember.

    http://boingboing.net/2009/12/07/major-record-labels.html
    http://www.negativland.com/a lbini.html
    http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090602/2308085105.shtml

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
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    R. Miles (profile), Sep 30th, 2010 @ 2:19pm

    Re: If??!?!

    The record labels are *already* doing this
    I do believe the point is most record labels cook the books so that "free" IS what they're paying them.

    At least, that's how I read the comic.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    icon
    The Groove Tiger (profile), Sep 30th, 2010 @ 4:13pm

    The way it works now is like this:

    The labels loan you money.
    They make you pay for everything with your loan.
    They take all of the profits, from the money that you invested.
    Now you owe them money.

    So, I think this would probably be an improvement.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Oct 1st, 2010 @ 8:35am

    Re: Re: If??!?!

    I thought most bands were PAYING to be on a record lable... Between advances and fees and everything else, bands tend to owe lables more than they make, unless they're lucky or famous, or both.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
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    Nick Dynice (profile), Oct 1st, 2010 @ 9:08am

    Hollywood accounting, anyone?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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