BeatSlacker

A great interview of Zoe Keating where Zoe discusses (among other things) why she didn’t want to sign to a record label:

“I’m not trashing record labels. They perform a useful service for many artists. But I don’t think the model works for me. I think of recording contracts as very, very expensive bank loans. In the future, if I need extra money to make an album, I’m more likely to try and raise it by appealing to my fans.”

She also talks in some depth about how she makes a living being a completely self-funded artist. A very interesting test case for the future of label-less artists…

[Thanks again to Adina Levin for the link]

Zoe’s Incredibly Interesting Blog: Deep thoughts on my music career

Not a glowing review of how Spotify deals with the artists who aren’t represented by big labels. Here’s one example:

“On Spotify, it seems, artists are not equal. There are indie labels that, as opposed to the majors and Merlin members, receive no advance, receive no minimum per stream and only get a 50% share of ad revenue on a pro-rata basis (which so far has amounted to next to nothing). “

A critical look at Spotify’s deal for musicians