Klarinet Archive - Posting 000085.txt from 2001/08
From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Record Labels?
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 17:19:10 -0400
> This is disturbing:
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=005416592330987&rtmo=k7qb7YCp&atmo=rrrr
> rrrq&pg@-----.html
>
> I haven't stepped in a "record store" is about five years; I buy
> on-line. It seems, however, that there will soon be nothing to buy.
>
> kjf
I've been wanting to reply to this for a few days now, but alas work has
kept me from doing it.
I read the article and there was a general attitude that bothered me... For
several years, I've been reading about the "death" of classical music.
There has been a lot of hype about this and for good reason.
On the recording front, classical albums do not sell well at all. A good
classical release will sell 3000-6000 CDs in the store. The record
companies don't want to foot enormous bills for a recording that is almost
sure to loose money. Think of the costs involved for an orchestral session:
80 piece orchestra, pay them $1,500/each ($120,000). Rent a hall $15,000,
Pay your technical staff: $10,000. Duplication/Artwork for 5,000 CDs
$7500... Our total costs are around $150,000 for a standard big orchestra.
(Actually they are probably higher, but lets use this number for our
example)
Now, when that CD only sells 5,000 copies in the CD store (at $18/each),
that makes the GROSS (not what the record company gets) $90,000 or a loss of
$60,000 on the release. Does this sound like good business? I think not...
I don't want to loose money like this. This is why the major labels are
dropping classical artists all the time.... It just doesn't make good
business sense. This is why the major labels have been re-releasing the
"classic" recordings. They have to pay very little for them and they can
make money. If they sell only 3,000 discs (gross of $54,000) but it only
costs $15,000 to produce... There are profits to be made.
Now, this is where the smaller labels step in. There has been a
proliferation of smaller labels that are doing excellent work and allowing
some of the smaller ensembles out there to have the exposure they deserve.
There is also a multitude of distributors out there that have great
connections distributing these smaller labels into Tower, Borders, Barns and
Noble, etc... They take completed recordings that are paid for by the
organization and put their name on it for distribution. These include CRI,
Allegro, Albany, etc...
The private organizations arrange for funding for these recordings. It is
usually corporate or private donors and sometimes even a federal
organization like the NEA that sponsors these recordings. They are made for
the art and not necessarily to make a lot of money.
Some of the major orchestras are also producing their recordings in-house
and you can order them from their websites. I also read a recent article
about several major world orchestras that will be distributing music over
the internet as downloads. You pay a subscription fee and you can listen to
concerts on-line...
It isn't so much that the music is dying, but there has been a major
restructuring of how recordings are distributed to the consumers. The
traditional methods no longer make business sense so we must search for
something new...
I have no doubts that classical music and the distribution of it will live
on. The method in which you get it will certainly change, but the music
will be available.
--Ben
Benjamin Maas
Fifth Circle Audio
Los Angeles, CA
benmaas@-----.com
http://www.fifthcircle.com
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