Earlier this year, we stumbled upon a very depressing statistic. It turned out that the average Tunecore artist was making just $179 a year - and that was before any annual fees. But now, it turns out there's an even more depressing figure: 99.875% - or nearly all - of Tunecore artists are making less than minimum wage through the platform, based on revenue figures recently shared by the company.
And that only counts revenues - not costs for creating content or annual fees owed to Tunecore. It also assumes that Tunecore revenues are being paid to one, solo artist, instead of being divided by a group.
Here's how we arrived at the calculation:
(1) We used the mininum wage of $8 in California.
(2) We multiplied that by the standard work week of 40 hours to reach a base monthly salary of $1,280.
(3) Then, we used a spreadsheet of top Tunecore earners from July of this year, which showed that just 749 artists made more than $1,280 in that month.
(4) We calculated the percentage using a baseline of 600,000, which is the number of member artists reported by Tunecore in late April of this year (about 2-3 months before the July data was published).
The result was the 99.875% figure.
But what about diversification? Of course, artists must look beyond the recording for revenues, though we wonder how many are actually making up the deficit through merchandise, touring, publishing, sponsorships, or other endeavors. Most unsigned artists we hear from are struggling to make money on on the road, or from other avenues. Which means a day job or subsidizing parents to keep the ship afloat.
A tour through the rich neighborhood. Perhaps the saddest part about all of this is that Tunecore CEO Jeff Price revealed the data with a completely different goal in mind. Price selectively published the spreadsheet of artists making over $100 a month to underscore how lucrative Tunecore is for artists. That list includes some extreme high-fliers, though it also includes artists signed to labels (the complete spreadsheet is available here). "With the music industry democratized, more artists are making more money than ever before," Price explained.
But is that really true?
Comments Closed
@BigChampagne Saturday, November 26, 2011
BigChampagne.com
This gets a lot of attention, but the truth is that music has always been an expensive hobby for all but a few.
@BenjiKRogers Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Benji Rogers
we are gonna fix this!
alhertz Thursday, November 24, 2011
....and how is that?
Maxwellian Saturday, November 26, 2011
Here's one idea: lower the rates! IF Tunecore is so busy helping artists why are they JACKING the rates up on them?
:MW
@kentsandvik Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Kent Sandvik
Tunecore and streaming services means trouble for musicians.
@KomusoTokugawa Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Komuso Tokugawa
The Big Scam.
recoup Wednesday, November 23, 2011
That's more than I made on a Major Label
CraigDiPaolo Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Scam? not sure but here's the problem. If tunecore told you upfront that you're likely to make less than the annual fee, no one would sign up. So they just dial it the other way by screaming revolution and play into the weakness of almost every emotional musician.
Alan Khalfin Wednesday, November 23, 2011
I think this data speaks more to how hard it is for most artists to sell music these days, and not to the quality of service that TuneCore provides. I think that we can all agree that TuneCore is a great tool, making it easy for you to get your tunes virtually everywhere. They dont charge very much, make the process easy and give you all the data/reporting that you need.
Of course, there are many other sites that do the same thing as TuneCore, and I think you'll find that they have similar data for artist revenue. The purpose of these sites is to get your music intro iTunes et al, not to sell/market the music for you. That's your job and just having your music in iTunes doesn't mean anyone will buy it. Rather, you need to really engage fans and give them a reason to buy your music, merch, etc. That's just how it goes these days.
Totally agree Thursday, November 24, 2011
The whole idea of digital distribution for indie artists is to give them a path into traditional sales channels. Marketing is a whole different ballgame and everyone knows it including Paul.Most musicians I know spend way more than these annual fees every month on beer. And then the same again on guitar strings. The mere fact that you have produced a piece of music does not entitle you to make a living off it !!
WILL Thursday, November 24, 2011
HansH Thursday, November 24, 2011
Why not blame Spotify?
Why ?? Thursday, November 24, 2011
Does there have to be someone to blame at all ??
Why indeed... Thursday, November 24, 2011
Because there have provided an valuable promotional channel for thousands of aspiring artists wanting to increase their listener base?
Because they have fought to combat piracy by providing monetizing a generation of listeners who are used to music being free?
Because they (despite the claims of some labels) do and can provide a valuable income stream for artists and bands smart and creative enough to know how to get people to listen to their music over and over?
I dunno - you tell me...
Hi Saturday, November 26, 2011
Fun Fact,
Tunecore paid out to it's artists roughly the same amount that Spotify collected from it's 2.5 million subscribers...
Andy Thursday, November 24, 2011
Our TuneCore revenues (composed of iTunes and Amazon sales and streams on Spotify, etc...) represent 6% of our total income.
The rest is direct-to-fan sales on our website and at concerts.
So these statistics don't mean much on their own.
Maxwellian Friday, November 25, 2011
you guys are missing the point. All this talk of disintermediation, direct to fan, D.I.Y. revolution, blah blah misses a huge point: a vast majority of artists are NOT benefitting.
in fact they may be worse off than they were 10 years ago.
:: MW
Hilarious Saturday, November 26, 2011
Really?
We're really comparing the industry to 10 years ago?
That's just silly.
99.9% of all Tunecore artists Thursday, November 24, 2011
Are also complete rubbish. Just go to spotify and do a labelsearch. Its the x factor syndrome. People have no shame or ability to see themselves critically. It most certainly is not the distributors fault that a lot of people think they are good enough to compete in this game while they in reality are complete #"!.
First you haveto be REALLY GOOD to matter at all. Second you have to communicate something meaningful. 99.9 percent of all tunecore artists do NOT meet either one of those criteria. ITs not a problem at all. they are just feeding their own vanity. That does not mean we all owe them a living .
reality check Friday, November 25, 2011
bingo.. you nailed it. most make little because they either suck, or they dont work at it. Tunecore is a service..not a label.
mdti Thursday, November 24, 2011
>>>
First you haveto be REALLY GOOD to matter at all
>>>
I don't agree... the best musicians and composers are not top sellers... Top sellers do not need to be "good"... and they are not the best, that's the least i can say imho...
gaetano Thursday, November 24, 2011
So,
This post kind of takes things a bit out of context, and I think some people understand that and others don't, and others could really care less either way.
I was one of the people of the Tunecore blog going back and forth with Jeff in regards to the the nature of the article/post and poll he posted. To be clear, this was about Jeff positing that there were no longer any gatekeepers within the music industry, and that even if they are, they will be disinter mediated.
I disagreed on a lot of levels for a lot of reasons. Jeff posted these things to prove his point, though in my opinion without any real demographic info these numbers were useless to the majority of people. The info is telling in some ways, but also completely subjective at best.
Tunecore is a great service, and one of many an artist can use to generate revenue and awareness. However, you have to see it as something like an open source operating system, every artist writes their own code and makes the most of the system itself. In short, it's what you make of it and it's available to everyone willing to pay a fee (a small one all things considered).
I was more interested in the top end of the graph, there are some numbers that are WAY more interesting, regardless of artists or demographic. I think we need to temper some judgement here, people are making money with music in a way they never could before.
Is it a lot? Not always, not even 99% of the time. However, that depends on what your idea of success is. Most independants would never even think of comparing themselves to a label artist, and lets remember that these artists are getting back 100% of the revenue (minus at most 50$ per year).
Is it flooding the market with too much crap? That's not our decision to make, and honestly, it doesn't really matter. The crap was there before you just couldn't buy it.
Pm Thursday, November 24, 2011
It's like the horse salesperson blaming ford for ruining their business...... Seems like the products themselves play the most part, then second would be the changing consumer desires.
Tell me that most people sit around listening to music vs surfing & social media and I'd say you are blind.
Times are changing.... The strong will survive
gaetano Thursday, November 24, 2011
Well,
Yes and no in regards to the Horse/Ford example.
One could say that about Eastman Kodak. Film, though still used, is becoming extinct...though I don't think it will ever go away completely.
What we're dealing with here is a bit more complex, though many will argue otherwise.
I'm not sure if it's the strong who survive. It appears that it will most likely be the subsidized, the hyper visible (unavoidable), or the independently wealthy...
But then again, perhaps thats the new definition of strong..
# Correction # Thursday, November 24, 2011
Paul, they are not "Tunecore artists". Tunecore is just their distributor. You wouldn't call an indie musician a "Best Buy artist" or a "Tower Records artist", would you?
paul Friday, November 25, 2011
In this case, 'Tunecore artist' refers to 'an artist using Tunecore,' I think most readers know how the relationship is constructed.
/paul
better: Sunday, November 27, 2011
I think "Tunecore customers" or "Tunecore clients" is a more appropriate term, as Tunecore does not get itself involved in any artistic process.
David Thursday, November 24, 2011
Is it really "less than minimum wage" when the income is passive? Correct me if I'm wrong, but nobody is putting in 40 hours per week.
Roger Bixley Friday, November 25, 2011
Something tells me 99.9% of artists make less than minimum wage via digital sales no matter what distributor they're using, whether it's Tunecore, IODA, Orchard or CD Baby. Hell, even if they're self-distributing ditigally, something tells me they're not making $1280/month in profit.
Yves Villeneuve Friday, November 25, 2011
crack addict Friday, November 25, 2011
most indies are addicted to production, and allergic to promotion! Its no wonder most dont make squat!
nathanJE Saturday, November 26, 2011
Once again we have Digital Music News ripping the scab off a very flimsy business. Bravo for that, this is why I am always reading this.
But what's the solution to this depressing problem?
unknown Monday, November 28, 2011
i woul say teach the artist that they need to promote their works, i mean is not like they will uploade their music and some kind of magic will make them earn 1 millon dolar isn't it
muse Saturday, November 26, 2011
99% of artists make music around 2 chords and do not know about music theory.
@yostijnedge Saturday, November 26, 2011
Stijn Edge
The reason I left for another service.
@RapCoalition Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wendy Day
if u put out music, u have to promote it, to sell it!!!
terryw Monday, November 28, 2011
great point Wendy.....what percentage of tunecore artist have a working promotion&marketing plan?......other than posting on the internet somewhere......anyone got info regarding this?......
unknown Monday, November 28, 2011
this is sarcasm but looking at all the coments saying tuncore is crap or bad for artist and since 99.9% of artist are earning less than average i would say or should i say dare to say .1 % are the one that have a marketing&promotion plan or at least they work to make their music known end of sarcasm, but yeah thats somthing that every future artist should know how to make a promotion plan
Joseph Lindholm Sunday, November 27, 2011
First, a little aside: Paul, judging by his "rebuttal" to your original posting and its ad hominem attacks, insults, and general distortions of your post, Jeff Price seems like a very dishonest individual.
Back on topic here:
Price's celebration of the end of the gatekeeper is quite telling: there are plenty of Tunecore artists who have a desire to be musicians, but do not have the talent, and who will never realize it. Whereas once there were gatekeepers to tell these people that their endeavour is hopeless, now we have Jeff Price finding a way to turn a handsome profit by capitalizing on the naive dreams and delusions of such people - and capitalizing on their willingness to spend their money in pursuit of a naive and unrealizable ambition.
This is not an improvement! - except, evidently, for Jeff Price.
And it does not help the listener either: by flooding the market with mediocre and less-than-mediocre, err.., sounds, it would stand to reason that it would become progressively harder for listeners to find, amid this sea of dross, music actually worthy of their attention.
Food For Thought Sunday, November 27, 2011
TuneCore is a fine commodity for independent musicians who sign up with their eyes open.
Jeff Price, however, is just another carnival barker selling salt water as a "miracle cure" who has gotten confused along the way coming to believe that he really can "heal".
Jeff's constant tilting at windmills - railing against an "old guard" that, frankly, he was a part of until it became more profitable for him to turn against - is his effort to keep artists from focusing on how little value his service offers to his clients.
Distribution couldn't be cheaper these days. Artists - and most indie labels - don't need distribution as much as they need professional support, promotion, licensing, accounting...
The real business begins AFTER you have your path to placing your song on iTunes (or eMusic...or Spotify...).
Timo Monday, November 28, 2011
Sad but probably so true. And the same goes with every service out there. They say "long tail doesn't exist". Well - ofcourse it doesn't because it cannot be found with ANY OF THESE services around. All services operate around the FRONT PAGE offering. You cannot afford to be featured on the front page. And if your product is something like nbr 5000 out of 200k search results NO-ONE will find you.
Tunecore artists are not making any money because no-one will find them behind the front page!
There is an alternative. Check out www.hitlantis.com with VISUAL BROWSING. There it is up to the act itself how visible they are in the sea of bubbles: be active, upload as much audio content as you can (for free ofcourse!) and invite as many fans to your profile and voila, your bubble grows bigger. Then it is up to the listening and sharing activities of your fans to get you moving towards the center.
This is what they say about Hitlantis: http://mashable.com/2011/02/03/artist-map-music-discovery/
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665428/infographic-of-the-day-a-dynamic-map-of-the-indie-music-universe
Well worth checking out!
@nicolaymusic Monday, November 28, 2011
Nicolay
Not surprised.
@IvanAlvarez Monday, November 28, 2011
Ivan
It's official: Tunecore is the new CD Baby.
@sidrabuchh Monday, November 28, 2011
Sidra Buchh
starving artist, there's some truth to that
@ChrisKnab Monday, November 28, 2011
Christopher Knab
disturbing news...
@carljacobson Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Haven't read through the bazillion comments here, but Tunecore should only be one revenue stream for artists, not their sole source of revenue.
Artists should also integrate a direct-to-fan solution (i.e. nimbit) for sales of digital music, CDs, and merch. Licensing and live performance can also factor in.
And for many of Tunecore's artists, music is a hobby or a second job. So for them, making any money at all on their music is a good thing.
tippysdemise Tuesday, November 29, 2011
It should be considered that many artists have only a part of their catalog distributed via Tunecore, and therefore it's not possible to make a determination about their entire digital sales income picture from the data cited in this article.
@KHolmMN Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Kelsey Holm
Spotify isn't the only problem.
JS Story Tuesday, November 29, 2011
This article is ridiculous. Why do most artists through tunecore make less than minimum wage? Because most artists on there don't sell any songs! Is that tunecore's fault? Absolutely not! It's the artists job to sell their songs, not tunecore's. Tunecore gives artists the ability to get their music up on every online retailer, for a very small price. If you don't think you can sell enough copies to pay the $50 fee to put your cd up, you probably shouldn't be putting a cd on itunes. To try and say tunecore is a scam is completely naive. I've gone through the company for over 5 years now and don't have a single bad word to say about the. They are FOR helping independent artists, NOT against helping them.
I'd definitely do a bit more research on the company before posting something that would make people believe a company is bad, when really it's the artists fault.
@Faolon Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tom Murphy
Not Cool.
David Palmer Thursday, December 01, 2011
This is a great article. To add to this unfortunate and sad article, Tunecore also charges yearly fees which I would confidently assume is higher than most of its artists sell. Essentially, you pay more out of pocket for distributing music than actually make money. They also only reach a handful of retailers. Bottom line is Tunecore and CDbaby or a bit outdated and have been vested in by larger investment groups. There are only a few true distributors. Best one by far in my opinion www.jmddistribution.com
they provide the largest distribution, cost less than all others and charge no monthly or yearly fees.
they upstream for major labels and reputable amongst major labels.
great article and thanks for writing it
wrapk Friday, December 02, 2011
Tunecore Saturday, December 10, 2011
Tunecore sells the dream, if you have the dream and 49 dollars than they want your money. Tunecore knows(as does everyone in the music business) that most artists 99 % will never make it no matter what type of promotion or work they put into their music. They said to themselves, if we could make 49 per album from every want to be artist we will make millions. We will make millions even if 99% of them make nothing. Do lets tell every want to be artist here is your chance to get your music into a store, and avoid the evil record companies. It's so ironic. The old record companies made a lot from a few, now tunecore makes a little from a lot of people. It's the new business model. Does it make them evil, no. It's the same reason why people buy lottery tickets even though it's 25 million to one. Sell he dream.
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