♪♪
♪ I see the look in your eyes ♪
♪ My hands are shakin' I don't know why ♪
♪ I feel as if I knew you in another life ♪
♪♪
Oh. My. God. This is so cool!
More like so corporate.
Is this a music video or a Hulko commercial?
Dad, stop!
A real artist wouldn't sell out like this.
They'd be all about the music.
Actually, while artists are still making music,
that is not how they make their money anymore.
Nowadays, if you want to earn a living as a musician,
you pretty much have no choice but to sell out.
(music stops)
Liisa, baby, if you're gonna
add another band member, you have to tell me!
I'm takin' five.
Oh, great! (chuckles)
That'll give me time to explain.
Can I get playback?
Back when people were buying physical CDs,
there was a ton of money to be made.
For the labels,
and for the artists.
♪♪
But the rise of streaming services
like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music
have changed the industry.
In 2017, music sales revenue
was just 60% of what it was in 1999.
(music stops)
I'm super convenient, but I do not pay well.
Every time one of their songs is played on Spotify,
artists only earn around one-tenth of one cent.
Cool. That'll cover my rent for the next three seconds.
See, Jordan? This is why I support
our local record store.
Streaming is killing the music industry.
Actually, that's not true at all.
Streaming may be screwing the artists,
but the labels have figured out how to make bank off of it.
When early Internet services
offered illegally-downloaded music,
everyone took a hit.
But then the labels started cutting contracts
licensing their entire catalogs for streaming.
And streaming is now their biggest source of revenue.
While their profits aren't quite back
to what they were in the '90s,
they're bouncing back at a rate of $1 billion per year.
The only problem?
Artists are not getting a fair cut of those deals.
Even Beyoncé, one of the biggest musicians
in the world, only makes 10% of her money
off of music sales.
Yeah, but she tours all the time.
That's how a real artist makes their living,
by getting out in front of the fans.
Actually, unless you're as huge as Beyoncé,
it's pretty much impossible
to make any money off of touring, either.
The top 40 live acts can make
up to 80% of their income from touring,
but everyone below the top 40
is lucky if their tours even break even.
Yes!
Now, after we recoup all the production,
travel, and crew expenses...
you owe the label 20 grand!
Since it's so hard
to make money off of record sales or touring now,
many mid-level artists these days
can only earn a living
by taking endorsement deals or appearance fees.
You guys look great!
Now, just a few small adjustments.
Jessie J has deals with VitaminWater...
(cash register chimes)
Pitbull endorses Sheets "Energy Strips"...
(cash register chimes)
And tons of artists get paid just to show up at events.
And not too much dancing.
You need to save your energy
for Justin Bieber's cousin's yacht christening!
This is embarrassing! How can these artists
even stand to look at themselves in the mirror?
(man) Maybe it's 'cause they trying to eat!
Oh, I'm not stealing these.
The director, uh, said I could have 'em.
(Adam) This is Open Mike Eagle.
He's an indie hip-hop artist, comedian,
and one of my closest friends.
Thanks for comin' through, fam.
Adam, I barely know you.
I'ma keep it real with you guys, though.
A lot of fans want their favorite artists
to be "authentic," but when it comes
to making money as a musician,
it's almost impossible without these
endorsement deals and licensing opportunities.
And truthfully, only the most popular artists
get offered these things in the first place.
Most endorsement opportunities
go to more established celebrities,
even when they barely make music anymore.
In 2017, the highest-paid musician was Diddy,
thanks to his eight-figure deal with Ciroc vodka.
But he hadn't made an album in over seven years.
(laughing) More like,
"Mo' money, less albums," right, Mike?
Sure, dude. The reality of working
as a musician today is this:
It took me nearly ten years to make
the same yearly salary as a musician
as I did as a teacher.
I don't know if I'd be able to make music professionally
and eat without additional streams of income.
It all goes into building my brand,
and it helps me be able to make a living.
In a perfect world, artists would be paid fairly
for making their art.
But unfortunately, that's just not the way
(phone chimes)
Oh, shoot!
I'm late for an audition.
Your boy's gonna be the face of Hulko Pizza Scones.
But... that's bull.
Music shouldn't be so commercial!
Ahh! Eff the industry!
Eff the Hulko-Puffs and the named labels,
and all of it! Ahh!
Dad! What are you doing?
Okay, the Zydepops are trying to cultivate
more of a mid-'90s vibe,
and trashing the set is so early '70s!