By: Connor

How can a band make $1,000,000 without a major label? It requires less to get the ball rolling than you might think. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, based in Brooklyn, NY and Philadelphia, PA, did just that after self-releasing their first album.

Thanks to favorable mentions on various MP3 Blogs and a “best new music” commendation from Pitchfork Media, demand for their album exceeded their initial run and the band was forced to press more CD’s to keep up with the demand. Rather than sign on with a major label, CD distribution was facilitated via a whole bunch of trips to the local post office. Since 2005, the band has sold more than 125,000 copies in the U.S. at shows and online.

The end result?
Each CD costs about 2$ in materials to press. The band sold them for 10$ a CD, a fairly acceptable price. $8 profit per CD and less than $10,000 to record and produce the album leaves them sitting on roughly $1,000,000 – not too shabby for a D. I. Y. release.

Comparatively, most artists only see $1 a CD maximum from a major label, with most not even seeing that.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah signed with Wichita Records in October 2005 to facilitate distribution in the UK, but remain unsigned in the U.S.

Why It’s Important:
Never before in music history has technology been advanced enough that the average musician can fill the role of producer, label, creative artist, and promoter from their own home. Mainstream exposure used to be limited to Ed Sullivan and the radio, which only played the most popular (read: major label backed) acts.

Now, thanks to the internet, The Long Tail, and social media, artists don’t need to depend on major labels for the exposure required to make a living. Niche markets that were ignored in the past can be addressed via MP3 pod-casting (amongst other options) and PayPal makes it simple for your fans to give you their money.

This is only the tip of the iceberg; with the increasing popularity and integration of social media and web 2.0 platforms, bands are not only selling CD’s online, but other merchandise and exclusive offers with great success.

Another more recent – and local – example is Andrea Gauster, who’s currently an artist with Broken Window Records. She’s taking advantage of Euphonic Sound’s Studio 2.0 offering, and was recently mentioned in a CBC Radio 3 podcast. Here’s what Euphonic Sound has to say about her newest single:

Released on November 8, a brand new Andrea Gauster single called “Christmas Without You”. This time producer James Pew contributes electric guitar, back up harmony vocals, and Hammond Organ. Bass arangement by Shawn Daley, performed by Freddy Gabrsek. You can hear it for free or download it for $0.99 at Andrea’s Bandcamp Artist Page

For more on the desirability of a major label and when (if ever) it’s a wise business move, check out Why do you still want a Major Label Deal so early into your career? by Shawn Daley.

Technorati Tags: Andrea Gauster, Broken Window Records, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, do it yourself, studio 2.0, The Long Tail

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 5:05 pm and is filed under Music Culture, Music History, Music Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.