David Byrne has written a great article for Wired magazine called David Byrne’s Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars. He lists six different distribution models available to musicians today:
- Equity deal
- Standard deal
- License deal
- Profit sharing
- Manufacturing and distribution deal
- Self-distribution
Right now Salter Cane are in that sixth category with a little bit of a distribution deal with CD Baby. As Byrne points out, there’s no one correct model:
No single model will work for everyone. There’s room for all of us. Some artists are the Coke and Pepsi of music, while others are the fine wine — or the funky home-brewed moonshine. And that’s fine.
The Wired article is well worth reading if you make music or if you’re just curious about the changing face of “the business.” For an ongoing look at the tools and opportunities available to musicians who don’t want to go down the traditional record deal route, be sure to check out Now Form A Band, a blog from the good folks at Last.fm. The manifesto outlines their mission:
We’re going to show you how to produce, promote and distribute your music, without spending a load of money, and without lots of other people getting involved.