File Sharing and the Canadian Indie Musician

The new normal

The Weakerthans | Flickr by Martin Cathrae

The effects of file sharing on Canadian indie labels and artists are unavoidable, and it’s forcing the industry into a sink-or-swim situation. Many labels have taken on management duties as well, to get a piece of revenue from their artists’s merchandise sales and live shows.

“The degree to which a label is affected (by file sharing) does, to some extent, reflect the degree to which they have been able to diversify their revenue. With our licensing, management, publicity and event production wings, we have been able to stay afloat in the face of slumping sales,” Miller says of Arts & Crafts.

Struthers says more labels are signing, “360 deals,” which are essentially record deals in which the label collects money from all revenue streams, such as merchandise, playing shows and music placement. This way, the label does not have to rely purely on album sales.

Many of the bands have turned towards government grants and private organizations to support their careers. Maloney cites MUSICNL, an organization that provides funding to Newfoundland and Labrador musicians, as one of the main pillars of Hey Rosetta!’s career, saying, “we wouldn’t be a band if it wasn’t for MUSICNL.”

Greatorex says Canadian musicians have far more grants accessible to them than their American counterparts, who have almost no support. Still, he says, “there’s something inherently wrong with an industry that relies too heavily on government funding.”

[pullquote]Our entire career has seen a rise in the popularity of our band and, at the same time, a drop in our album sales.[/pullquote]

Royalties from radio and television placement are also sources of income, and this only helps bands or artists that receive substantial radio rotation.

“I guess (radio placement) is a major source of income if you’re Katy Perry or Lady Gaga or something,” says Carroll.

Less money earned from music, coupled with lower cost of production, has created an influx of bands that are forced to play more shows.

“We used to book shows two, three months in advance for a tour. Now we have to book at least six months in some locations,” says Carroll. He fears this will create a, “race to the bottom,” with bands playing more shows for less pay to compete for gigs.

Massive tours are certainly the norm for Hey Rosetta!, who played 85 shows between February and November of 2010, 50 of those between June and October. “That’s pretty much how bands exist now, by playing lots of shows,” explains Maloney.

So what’s next for Canadian music?

One thing that’s certain is that piracy is here to stay. “Everybody’s done it at some point,” says Maloney. “I’ve downloaded music for free.”

Imaginary Cities | Flickr by aphrodiaA

The problems arise when one considers the prospect of prosecuting something that nearly everybody has a part in. “Ideally, there should be some way to regulate it,” says Imaginary Cities’s other half, Rusty Matyas, but the music industry has yet to find a way of doing so.

Despite the prevalence of file sharing, the future of physical music is not as bleak as one might think.

“There’s something to be said for tangible media,” says Maloney. “The cover art and lyrics make it more personal.”

Matyas says that CDs are dying fast, but “vinyls (sic) are definitely making a comeback.” Carroll says that certain dedicated fans buy vinyl records. He estimates that about 10 per cent of their overall sales are vinyl, and while that number is on a steady rise, it’s done almost nothing to combat the rapidly declining overall sales.

The future is unclear, but a shared sentiment is that the shift of control away from major labels and towards the artists is imminent, as exemplified by Radiohead’s decision to self-release their 2007 studio album In Rainbows through their website and allowed their fans to decide how much they wanted to pay. Since then, other popular acts like Nine Inch Nails have followed suit.

While these releases make an impactful statement on the music industry, the artists in question had already established a massive fan base and considerable wealth, minimizing promotional costs and negating any budgeting worries.

“(Radiohead’s method) is more of a statement than a reliable business model,” says Greatorex. Most smaller bands, especially those just starting out, can’t take the risk of not recouping the money lost making the record.

Struthers says it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see a variant of this model catch on. “Within five to ten years, all the music might be available for free from the artists themselves.”

“The music industry is really learning a lot about itself right now,” says Max Kerman, of The Arkells. “They’re still trying to figure out how to connect with people and make up for their losses.”

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