Making D.I.Y Pay

In the Making D.I.Y. Pay panel, moderated by Nicola Slade from music industry bible Record of the Day, some of the scarier realities of going your own way were brought to light. In the last decade there has been a 15 per cent drop in the sales of recorded music. With over 30,000 albums released each year, the chances of success are less certain than ever. Human hand-grenade and respected music writer John Robb, who is never one to keep his opinion to himself on a panel offered this advice for anyone thinking of doing it themselves: "Kids think its about celebrity culture when it should be about creativity". David Courtier-Dutton from band investment site Slicethepie.com revealed that of the 24,000 bands they have on Bebo, 24 have been funded. He reiterated his claim that slicethepie are a utility for investment, not a tastemaker. UK soul singer Beverly Knight's manager David Woolf said that Beverly is happy since leaving EMI and getting VC investment for her own label. "She is happy to be in charge of her destiny now". He also suggested that EMI hadnt invested in the right way. Nick Denton, the head honcho at Dirtee Stank (Dizzee Rascal's label), when asked how to 'get seen' as a DIY artist replied succinctly "Get off your fucking arse and play some gigs". Sage advice. Denton confided that although XL were great, there would always be a massive gap between artist and the label in terms of goals and attitudes.
David Courtier-Dutton delivered the maxim that for marketing "every email address is sacred". David Woolf said that there were several surprises associated with taking the DIY route, namely that every decision is taken with a long-term goal in the DIY sphere. He thought that contracts can be intimidating. Nick Denton said that when you sign with a big company, they can give you a 7-figure sum and not ring you once per year. Peter: Thompson thought tastemakers were a' necessary evil. To round off the panel, each participant was asked their definition of success:. The responses included 'playing to a packed house', 'survival', 'creative freedom', 'a living wage' and 'doing what you love' - why not have a game of matching the definition with the panellist?