Downloading: The death of music *feature to be assessed*

How far would you go for the love of your job if you were a musician? Would you leave your friends and family for a week to travel across the province? Would you leave for a few months to travel across the country? How about doing what Karla Pilgrim is doing and traveling to Afghanistan to perform for the troops? Not many people would that far. Karla is an example of the passion a true musician has for their craft and career.

Karla has been performing since she was a young girl. She started in the church in her hometown of Roddickton, Newfoundland. She was known as the girl who could play any instrument but her best played instrument was her voice. People would come to the church to hear her breathtaking voice fill the church with a power very few people have. This lead to her filling theatres around Newfoundland in shows such as Abba and her own one woman country and gospel show.

She did shows like Canadian Idol where she made it all the way to Toronto, and Nashville Star which was a dream come true for this country music lover. “To see the Grand Ole Opry, where my idols like Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline performed, was an experience I will keep with me forever. I stood outside the building and just cried. It was a dream come true and made my dreams of performing for a living that much more real.” Karla plays regular gigs in St. John’s, where she’s been living for the past 2 years. She is a waitress when she’s not playing but still finds it hard to pay the bills.

Karla has had the goal of recording an album for the past five years, but has yet to record a full CD. With the help of a FACTOR Grant, a government funded project for musicians, she was able to record three songs. Unfortunately, it takes more than three songs to produce a product worthy of store shelves. She’s had offers from several successful musicians in the St. John’s area to help on her recordings but without the money to produce a CD, their help is useless. Without a CD to circulate it would be hard for people to get to know and love Karla’s infectious voice. She would need a hefty loan to cover the costs of recording, producing and distributing a CD. If people aren’t buying music anymore, there would be no way to pay back that loan which leaves Karla in a tough position. She will always perform, but her dream of doing it as a career may not be an option. The way the music industry in headed, Karla may never get to tour the world doing what she loves.

Downloading music for free is fast becoming the prime way to acquire music. Just because it is accessible doesn’t make it right. Each year, millions of dollars are put into creating and recording music. It could be an artist who is well known or someone local, like Karla Pilgrim, trying to start their career. The process of recording songs, producing a CD and then distributing that CD to the public is an expensive venture. Most people don’t even make a profit from their CD sales until they make it “big”. It’s the radio play and live performances that allow a lot of these artists to play music as a career. Unfortunately, most don’t get these opportunities.

Is it a coincidence that most people who you see on the street as a busker trying to get money thrown in their hat play instruments or have some talent? Not really. These are the people who love what they do and are trying to get enough money to get that song recorded for people to hear. I’ve had friends play in downtown St. John’s and downtown Halifax, not just trying to make a few bucks, but because they truly love music and have a passion for performing. Karla has sat on George Street in St. John’s playing her guitar and belting out her favorite songs. It’s not to fill up her guitar case with change, but because she wants to share her music with anyone and everyone. When you hear her voice, you feel her passion, and when she hits that high note in “Bobby Magee”, the hair on your arms stands straight up. I have felt this incomparable feeling and Karla’s performance is one everyone should experience, but unfortunately might not be able to with the slow death of buying CDs.

The money in the music industry is made by song writers, the record company big wigs, and those artists that are at a level where they can put off a concert in a park or stadium that draws thousands of people. Even artists who may be big on the east coast of Canada don’t make enough money to kick back and go on spending sprees. Most still haven’t paid off the cost of making their first CD. Some will never get to a level where they can do more than record a CD every couple of years and play shows in bars on the weekends. They can probably do it for as long as they want, but only as a second job.

Downloading music may seem like an easy way to hear an artist but it’s technically stealing. There are websites where you can buy music downloads, which have given musicians a glimmer of hope to be able to afford this passion. It may not seem like a big deal to download a couple of songs, but when you think about the artists, sound engineers, producers, graphic artists, and distributors that are all trying to make money off a 15 dollar CD after the record company gets their cut, there isn’t much profit to go around. This is why downloading has to stop or we will actually experience the day the music dies.

According to Ipsos-Reid, in 2004, 32 per cent of Canadian adults with an Internet connection have downloaded at least one music file, even though it’s illegal under copyright laws. I have completed a two-year Recording Arts program where I not only performed and produced music, but I also learned about the music industry and how downloading and copying music is bad for business.
It is a common misconception that music artists make millions once they get a hit song or video. The issue of money is complicated, but I’ll try to give you a basic idea of just how much an artist makes.

The process starts by having talent and getting a deal. Pretend that you are a talented new artist. A record company will usually lend the artist or band about $300,000 to start production. This $300,000 has to be paid back in full from the earnings from CD sales. From $300,000, $200,000 goes into making and recording the CD which leaves $100,000.

You may be thinking, $100,000, not bad to live on, but wait. You haven’t paid anybody yet.

Bobby Borgs article “Record Advanced and Royalties” breaks it down fairly simple. From $100,000 the record company lent you as an advance, you have to give percentages to an attorney, who negotiated the record deal for you, business and personal managers, and the government; because we should all pay our taxes. Once you pay these people, you are left with $42,000. This $42,000 has to be split with the band. If the average band has four members, this leaves each with $10,500 to live on while they make and promote the recording.

Once the CD gets put on store shelves, the band can receive about $1 a CD or 25 cents for each band member. This only comes after you’ve paid the producer, who owns a portion of the music because they mixed it and put it together. Before you see a cent of the CD profits, you still have to pay back the $300,000 the company lent you in the beginning. You would have to sell at least 300,000 CDs. If you need money to release a second CD before you pay off your first loan, you increase what you owe, which increases the amount of time before you see any money. By downloading music, CDs aren’t being sold so the artist isn’t making any money. This leaves musicians in debt and even great musicians may not be able to afford to record their music. This is the position Karla finds herself in. She has gone to great lengths to get a break which has led this great musician to a lot of debt. Her trip to Nashville wasn’t cheap, but it was a risk she was willing to take to fulfill that life long dream of playing her music. She sometimes mixes work with pleasure and will play a set at a bar, and then on breaks she will tend the bar and serve customers. If she ever wants to afford a recording, she will have to continue playing duel roles for years to come.

Should people be downloading and copying music? Definitely not. It’s not only illegal but it also hurts so many people. Not only people on the business side of the music industry and the retailers, but the artists themselves. I have gone to music conferences, met with people in the industry, and have seen how many people are affected. I also have friends who are in this business trying to make a living. Someone like Madonna probably could sell those 300,000 CDs no problem, but for new artists, like Karla Pilgrim, who are starting on the local scene, 300,000 is a hard number to reach, and even harder when people aren’t buying CDs. But if we all go to the music stores and spend the extra money to buy the CD the way the artist intended, with the artwork and tracks in a certain order, maybe we can help save a dying industry; maybe we can help Karla fulfill that dream of taking the stage at the Grand Ole Opry. So please, go buy a CD and support the music.