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| From | Not Lame <popmusic@notlame.com> |
| Subject | Soundscan and Not Lame |
| Date | Wed, 19 Feb 2003 08:52:58 -0700 |
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> The industry source for tracking sales is Soundscan. I'm curious. If I buy
> a CD from Not Lame or Parasol, does Soundscan ever know about it? Recently
> I bought 2 CDs each directly from Joe Jackson and Rikki Lee Jones, in each
> case from their websites. Does Soundscan know about these?
This a debate. Some mail order places now DO use soundscan. CDBaby, in
particular. Why? Well, a loto f the artists on there really think it's an
important value-added service that they provide, as does CD Baby.
That works fine for them and it is a value-added service. If the band is
looking to get a record deal. But you know, my point of view would be that
is not the job of Not Lame. That's the job of the band and their
managers/handlers. Our job is to sell music, not track it for major labels
to get an idea of what's going on with what we're doing. Our data only
enhances the value of Soundscan's stock. And we do all the work w/
gathering, organizing and submitting the data. For nothing. Um, sorry. I
have great music to find and tell our customers about, much better things to
do. But thanks for the offer, SS.
Most indie artists are driven by the same deal that Owsley took. A major
label deal. The supposed end-all for a musician. Show a sales history on
your record, the major labels, *theoretically*, pay attention. And the
potential pay day looms. (even though that's utter fallacy but it's a
prime motivator for far too many bands). That he's now crying the tears of
bitter disappointment publically to his fans and blaming the internet?
Shortsighted, wrong and lazy. So he can't be a full time touring musician
anymore. Well, so it goes. We'd all like a lot of things we don¹t' have.
Back to Soundscan: Pretty sure Parasol does not do SS, but Not Lame does
not. Why? Well, until recently, they would not take numbers from mail
order companies like the above ones. They have modified their requirements,
though.
But honestly, it's an arm of the macro-part of the music industry that I
think has *very* little relevance to the model and purpose of Not Lame, as
a label and as a mail order store. And we don¹t' have the time or resources
to submit. The indie bands who we carry, who would like to see us do that,
most of them want the soundscans to position for a potential record
deal/management deal/whatever deal. It's just not Not Lame's bag. And I
sure can live with that. The mission here it to get music we think rocks,
out and into music fans' lives, who rock every bit as much as the musicians
who create the music do. What the music industry is obsessed with this
week/month/year just is not what we're good at. And the people buying music
is the gas/petrol that makes the machine move forward and go somewhere.
The only people impressed by Soundscan numbers are the big players in the
larger areas of the music industry. And that's fine, of course. These
players extract meaning from those numbers, generally, in a h orrifically
clueless manner as they relate to creating 'profit', equity in their
releases. They use the numbers as important signposts on which to make
decisions on a band or style of music, figure out trends in touring markets
of a band, what's working at retil, what's not.. Empirical data *is*
important, don't get me wrong. The meaning attached to soundscans numbers,
as it relates to Not Lame's business does not.
Well, guess what? Tons of records are being sold that are not being
tracked by the RIAA or Sounscan. Pull up the soundscans on Not Lame titles
and they look pitiful.
Well, sales on most of the releases ARE just that, actually. ;-)
But seriously, 3/4 of our sales are not tracked SS. Take the Jellyfish box,
the most successful release in our history. Pushing 8.000 sold on the
amazing 4 CD set. Who would have thought. Not EMI, not the fans, not even
me(I was hoping 5,000).
Pull the soundscans on them. I'm not sure what they are, but my educated,
yet still clueless guess: 2,300. (you may handsomely, btw, to have access
to Soundscan's numbers.....) I could make a call and find out. But I have
better things to do, quite honestly as the n umbers from SS just are not
going to drive what and how I run my business. Ever.
The two different numbers o f the sales above do not inter-relate or connect
to the reality.
I'd like to think that Not Lame operates outside of the machinations and
many of the truly lamer principles held up as 'truth' in the music industry.
Hey, in our small way, we've beaten all the odds anyway being in business
for 8 years. We still have a job to to and that job is to get great music
into music fans' hands.
Be it on the label. Or w/ the mail order.
That is why Not Lame works. Not soundscan numbers for its releases *or* for
the bands its carries on its mail order.
The internet is not the problem. Or the solution.
David Bash wrote this earlier today about further clarification on Will's
feelings:
He probably could re-record the tunes on his own and possibly "get away with
it", or write completely new tunes and record those, but he's willing to
take the gamble of waiting out the label because a) he's really proud of the
recordings, and b) they were very expensive to make, and he doesn't feel he
could do these songs the same kind of justice should he re-record them on
his own dime.
My response: WRONG.
Why don't artists believe in their abilities to create music w/o the huge $
resources of major labels is beyond me in 2003. That's just borderline
ridiculous. Brad Jones could do a Owsley record wonderfully for $10-15K.
Michael Carpenter for half that. He could re-record them just fine. If he
had the heart for it. He does not and that's fine. Other great artists
will continue to create and fill the vacuum he chooses to not to participate
in. sad.
This Pop Music, not Rick Wakeman's "Journey to The Center Of The Earth".
Peace,
Bruce Brodeen
@ Not Lame Recordings
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