Deep down, every musician wants to have their song(s) be a hit. I've heard people humming the melody from my song Phoenix after a gig and it feels good. Still a long way away from a hit but it's that feeling of acceptance.
I read the npr article after Lefsetz posted about it a few days ago. According to the article, it can cost upwards of a million dollars to produce a hit. And even at that, nothing's guaranteed. And nearly all of that money is spent on the "song roll out" portion that's primarily marketing-esque schemes.
Where is the value in that? Sure, it has a cash-back value. The people spending a million bucks to put out a song/album are generally getting it back. But beyond that? You're paying to be put in front of people so that they notice you. It's basically a listen-to-my-music-because-I-
Of the categories listed, I can see justification for 3 of them: producer, vocal producer, and mix/master. And it really seems like a lot of the production could be eliminated as well.
Here's where to start: write your own songs! In their estimates, $33k is spent per song for people to do the work for you. Beyond that, $35k is spent on production. Some of that (recording) is necessary, but it should be your own creation. For a producer to say "play/sing like this because this is what I want it to sound like" is kinda ridiculous... Take suggestions, but don't be a puppet in your own creative endeavor.
A good friend of mine, Caleb Hawley, once told me that for one of his albums he went all-out and spent $11k to produce it - the entire album. All of his albums are great and I recommend him to friends all the time. He's not getting filthy rich off of his work, but he's gotten some decent recognition and has continuously been real with his music. He's got the ability to write hits and definitely the talent.
So what would happen if money wasn't poured into advertizing? If "advertizing" went back to word-of-mouth? Or if there were a limit as to how much you could spend on a campaign? It's used with politicians so that no one can "buy" their way in ...so why not with musicians? I think it would dramatically change the musical climate of America. When you're not seeing a million dollars worth of Rihanna's marketing to tell you to buy, would people maybe start to make their own decisions about music? If radio producers weren't bought out by artists, what would they play and promote on their stations?
Radicalize indie.
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