December 11, 2008

Jupiter surveyed many hundreds of unsigned artists and asked them about their aspirations. The vast majority wanted to get a record deal. The vast majority wanted to make money out of selling their music. So whilst many have argued that artists just want to be musicians and not make money, this simply isn't the case. Don’t get me wrong, I'm not arguing that musicians' are some money grabbing bunch, simply that they'd like to be able to get paid for doing what they love and ideally be able too give up their day jobs. Not get a yacht or private jet, just be able to make a decent living.

People have cited Radiohead as an example of an artist that went free. They didn’t. No one could download the album for free -- you had to pay a minimum 'administration' fee. And then Radiohead used the success of the initiative to secure a lucrative distribution deal with XL Recordings for that outdated concept, the CD. Radiohead made more money out of In Rainbows than many other of their albums. They played the system to get better contract terms and to drum up interest.