Yup, Pretty Much...

Here is an interesting blog post from Too Much Joy, an “alternative” (read: college rock) band from the late 80s and early 90s that you might or might not be familiar with. They were on Warner Bros. for four of their albums, and he just got an interesting royalty statement. It’s worth a read, as it gives a good insight in to how this whole business works.

I’m in a not-dissimilar position, with the caveat that TVT went out of business not too long ago. I’m unrecouped to the tune of around $400,000 or so, which is probably more than the Orchard paid in total for the entire Wax Trax! catalog. Now I owe (where “owe” equals something different than it does in normal English) the Orchard $400,000. Occasionally I get a royalty statement from them, where they cheerfully inform me of the comical sales figures they manage to gin up.

This is doubly humorous because those four albums they own each individually sold more than all the albums I’ve made since, and were supported with multi-hundred-date tours, massive ad buys, placements on major studio motion picture soundtracks, and reviews in every music magazine worth a shit, and plenty that aren’t. Yet somehow they earn between 1/100th and 1/1000th of what our self-released SMG albums earn.

On the other hand, though, I own all my own publishing, so the Orchard has to actually pay me actual money twice a year, unlike many bands who make the ultimate stupid decision to sign their publishing to the label. The checks are so small that I sometimes forget to cash them, I’m embarrassed to admit, but they do come, which is something, I guess.

There’s no real point to this post other than to perhaps provide an object lesson. I got to ride around in a bus for 6 years and play music every night, which fucking rules, so I’m not bitching in the slightest. I’m just pointing out how odd this business can be.