Modest Success Is Still Success For Indie Bands

from the Musicians-Wanted dept

A few months ago, we wrote about the band Pomplamoose for its unique way of making a living by selling its music digitally. The musical duo playfully connected with fans, sold homemade soap, and even encouraged listeners to give goats to charity. More recently, the band has gained more attention and was accepted into YouTube’s Musicians Wanted program where YouTube offers a 50/50 ad revenue split with independent artists who use Google’s video platform. Pomplamoose fan Joseph Johnson also points us to an interview with the band in which they describe their creative process and talk a bit about how they manage without the backing of a major label:

Ms. DAWN: I mean, if you can’t just do it all yourself, then you do need help. If, for example, you’re somebody who writes songs, like Lady Gaga, and you need everything, you know, that’s going to make you Lady Gaga, then you need a big, fat label. But if you’re just a band, I don’t think we’re in an era anymore where you need that sort of major backing.

Pomplamoose admits that the band doesn’t cash $10 million royalty checks for its music, but that its two singers make a modest living doing what they enjoy doing. They don’t play in clubs too much and haven’t gone on tour because it’s a lot of work for them to set up live shows. Actually, given the way they record their music videos, they don’t really know how to play their own songs in a “normal” linear way without editing and remixing. And interestingly, they seem to be making enough to pay for the mechanical rights for the songs they cover.

Mr. CONTE: … we make sure that we have all our ducks in a row. We bought mechanical licenses to all of our covers before we put them on iTunes. So it’s all legit and legal.

So despite criticism that says bands like OK Go have failed and can’t make it without a label, the reality is that more bands are able to create more music — and are getting paid in a variety of different ways. Selling plastic disks isn’t the only way to make a living. Touring isn’t the only way to make a living. Selling T-shirts isn’t the only way to make a living. And Google ads certainly aren’t going to save every struggling indie band, either. In fact, there is no silver bullet for how a band can support itself. Simply put, the barrier to become a famous band has dropped considerably, but that doesn’t guarantee success — however, it makes it a lot easier for a much broader array of musicians to try to become professionals doing what they enjoy.

Filed Under: cwf+rtb, music industry, pomplamoose, successes