Big Black - Deep Six

An amazing song by Steve Albini here Deep Six!

They sold a quarter million copies! Here is the math that will explain just how fucked they are: These figures are representative of amounts that appear in record contracts daily. There's no need to skew the figures to make the scenario look bad, since real-life examples more than abound.

Advance: $ 250,000
Manager's cut: $ 37,500
Legal fees: $ 10,000
Recording Budget: $ 150,000
Producer's advance: $ 50,000
Studio fee: $ 52,500
Drum Amp, Mic and Phase "Doctors": $ 3,000
Recording tape: $ 8,000
Equipment rental: $ 5,000
Cartage and Transportation: $ 5,000
Lodgings while in studio: $ 10,000
Catering: $ 3,000
Mastering: $ 10,000
Tape copies, reference CDs, shipping tapes, misc. expenses: $ 2,000
Video budget: $ 30,000
Cameras: $ 8,000
Crew: $ 5,000
Processing and transfers: $ 3,000
Off-line: $ 2,000
On-line editing: $ 3,000
Catering: $ 1,000
Stage and construction: $ 3,000
Copies, couriers, transportation: $ 2,000
Director's fee: $ 3,000
Album Artwork: $ 5,000
Promotional photo shoot and duplication: $ 2,000
Band fund: $ 15,000
New fancy professional drum kit: $ 5,000
New fancy professional guitars [2]: $ 3,000
New fancy professional guitar amp rigs [2]: $ 4,000
New fancy potato-shaped bass guitar: $ 1,000
New fancy rack of lights bass amp: $ 1,000
Rehearsal space rental: $ 500
Big blowout party for their friends: $ 500 Tour expense [5 weeks]: $ 50,875
Bus: $ 25,000
Crew [3]: $ 7,500
Food and per diems: $ 7,875
Fuel: $ 3,000
Consumable supplies: $ 3,500
Wardrobe: $ 1,000
Promotion: $ 3,000
Tour gross income: $ 50,000
Agent's cut: $ 7,500
Manager's cut: $ 7,500
Merchandising advance: $ 20,000
Manager's cut: $ 3,000
Lawyer's fee: $ 1,000
Publishing advance: $ 20,000
Manager's cut: $ 3,000
Lawyer's fee: $ 1,000
Record sales: 250,000 @ $12 =
$3,000,000
Gross retail revenue Royalty: [13% of 90% of retail]:
$ 351,000
Less advance: $ 250,000
Producer's points: [3% less $50,000 advance]:
$ 40,000
Promotional budget: $ 25,000
Recoupable buyout from previous label: $ 50,000
Net royalty: $ -14,000
Record company income:
Record wholesale price: $6.50 x 250,000 =
$1,625,000 gross income
Artist Royalties: $ 351,000
Deficit from royalties: $ 14,000
Manufacturing, packaging and distribution: @ $2.20 per record: $ 550,000
Gross profit: $ 7l0,000

The Balance Sheet: This is how much each player got paid at the end of the game.

Record company: $ 710,000
Producer: $ 90,000
Manager: $ 51,000
Studio: $ 52,500
Previous label: $ 50,000
Agent: $ 7,500
Lawyer: $ 12,000
Band member net income each: $ 4,031.25

The band is now 1/4 of the way through its contract, has made the music industry more than 3 million dollars richer, but is in the hole $14,000 on royalties. The band members have each earned about 1/3 as much as they would working at a 7-11, but they got to ride in a tour bus for a month. The next album will be about the same, except that the record company will insist they spend more time and money on it. Since the previous one never "recouped," the band will have no leverage, and will oblige. The next tour will be about the same, except the merchandising advance will have already been paid, and the band, strangely enough, won't have earned any royalties from their T-shirts yet. Maybe the T-shirt guys have figured out how to count money like record company guys. Some of your friends are probably already this fucked.

- Taken from
THE PROBLEM WITH MUSIC written by STEVE ALBINI

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Big
• Black
• Deep
• Six
• Hammer
• Party
• Songs
• About
• Fucking
• Shellac
• Rapeman
• Steve
• Albini
• Rich
• Mans
• Eight
• Track

[spittingfromspace]

click on more info, albini giving out about money and the record labels when he charged $2,000,000 to record "in utero". chancer.

[emilyrl]

Did he? I would have probably done the same.

After all, Kurt Cobain stole from Albini shamelessly... then wanted him to produce his record. Albini would be as huge as Nirvana if he had been half as pretty as Kurt & willing to be a sellout.

[spittingfromspace]

he didn't have cobain's ear for a pop hook either to be fair.

[emilyrl]

He probably didn't listen to the same music that Kurt did...

[dooshgooch]

Finally someone who agrees with me. every big black video i go to people are talking as if Kurts a god or something.. on a fucking big black video..

[MrOutdoorMiner]

Who's Kurt Cobain?

[jrfedorable]

I'm kind of musically everywhere but thankfully just came across Big Black. I always disliked the 'N' word and anything to do with it's lead singer but this stuff is raw right here. Dig it.

[TheTetrarch]

A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge...

Can't get enough of this song.

[yukikoforevernoise]

@spittingfromspace fuck cobain's ear for a pop hook . . . Nirvana is an alright band, ok for a fun listen every now and then, even pretentious ol' me can admit that, but it's not the be all end all of punk/rock/pop music, not even in the late 80s/90s . . . I'd fucking that Big Black or Rapeman over Nirvana any day . . .

[TallHogan]

Man. This song is so god damn great.

[aselfishimpulse]

i think we all know if he wanted to, albini could definitely write songs with as much as pop appeal as kurt did, he just didnt want too. (not a slight on either of them) albini's a fucking legend!

[killertofujomo]

@spittingfromspace hey smarts, know your shit. Albini refused to accept royalties for "In Utero," which is what most producers do. He took his flat fee, because that is what he thought was the right thing to do. As a result he forfeit thousands if not millions of dollars.

[studdsreturbo]

@spittingfromspace Kurt listened to this dummy.

[rabrabrabbit]

buck knife*

[looshkin66]

word!