Caltrops - Motherfucking News - That's why you can't go the major route anymore.

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by No Pocky For Titties 02/23/2003, 10:39pm PST

That breakdown is probably accurate - but it sets aside the primary sources of income for rock bands: touring and merchandising (which amount to the same thing, since you sell the merchandise on tour and that's how you get paid). Grunthead or whatever would need to keep touring to make better money, just like every other rock band.

As has been pointed out by hundreds of musicians smarter than myself (Courtney Love, Ian Mackaye, and Bill Barbot to name three) - you'd have to be fucking crazy to want to sign to major label, with the state of things today. Forming your own label (or managing to become a flagship band on someone else's label) is the only way to go. Major labels are, exactly, gigantic corporations with thousands of employees, all of whom need paying on the back of your record if you sign on. Even really good bands, if marketed improperly, will usually fail with this kind of overhead. Witness Jawbox, Shudder to Think, and Frank Black, all of whom released amazing records immediately before being droppeddue to unprofitability. (Jawbox and STT both broke up afterward). Witness also bands like Man or Astroman?, Dismemberment Plan, and Death Cab for Cutie that stayed on indie labels and are carving out nice livings for themselves. Are they snorting coke off models' tits like Sean Combs? Well, no, but the point of being a rock star is not becoming rich. If you want to make a lot of money, there are better professions. But being in a rock band is the only profession where you get to be in a rock band for a living. That has to be its own reward.

Spoken as someone that's trying.