I knew about the music. I got that part but I wanted to know the business, I wanted to know about royalties, how people got paid, producers and stuff like that so I read all those books like twice.
Musicians make up for the copies of their songs that get pirated by performing live. I don't think there will be as many people showing up to hear me read as to hear Beyonce sing. We need to make sure piracy is dealt with effectively.
One of the biggest wake-up calls of my career was when I saw a record contract. I said, 'Wait - you sell it for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it?'
There's no problem with fans and bands. There's a problem with the economics of the outside disruption of the industry.
My whole team, it wasn't about putting the album out, it was about getting off the record company and going independent or going to another label. To the point we were like, 'Listen, just take 'Lasers.' You can have whatever percentage off the next ten records I do for the rest of my life. I just do not want to be here anymore.'
I think the music business is as crass and as unrewarding as it has ever been.
I have lots of CDs that came out at one time or another, and according to the statements I've gotten, no one's buying them.I figured there's no need making a new CD. There are plenty of mine out there, and none of them are selling.
You can now be a master of your own destiny. I'm not sure why you would sign up with a record label.
If somebody makes a record, no matter how many years later it's released, they or their families should be entitled to the proceeds.
I think the 360 deals are what stands out to me, first and foremost. I never would have dreamed that record labels would be taking a piece of touring, merchandise, and everything else. The world has changed so dramatically from when we first started.
First of all, I only get 50 percent of it, because, I mean, the galleries get 50 and 60 percent. I mean, that's normal. I understand that. I don't quarrel with that.
Actually, I have another record I made with them in 1976, but I've had such a bad experience with record companies, because I keep my head so much in music and not in business.
When people see you have a song on MTV, they think you are doing well - but you know, the way the traditional label deal was set up, it is really hard for an artist, unless they sold a lot, to see anything.
When I was in N.W.A. and didn't get paid all the money I was owed, that's when the business side of showbiz hit me.
'Cause I can make more money going in and doing my recordings and selling them through my entities that I have, rather than going to a record co. and them release a record and pay me 5 percent of what they make off it.
I do pay performance royalties on others' songs I perform live, but I'm not recording these songs and putting them up for sale.
It's very hard for an artist to negotiate their fees. My job is to act; my manager's job should be to handle the business side of it.
I think that on paper we did make so many of the classic mistakes that a punk band makes, signing to a major label, getting in business with the wrong people, stuff like that.
I've signed with major labels, and I haven't had any control over the money.
So many venues are owned by these various different ticketing and promoting people, and they're all in bed with one another. It's no secret over here.
I had a very unusual contract. Most artists actually pay for their record dates and it comes out of their royalties. I paid for nothing.
Now we know that, the way contracts are set up, it's not really made for artists to get rich from selling records - that's the company's one shot to make money.
It's the big boys, the Googles of this world, that are already benefiting from piracy and not paying the artists a dime.
When you go pick out my album, the money actually comes to me and my company directly.
If we don't give the authors of music, film, literature, and journalism a way to control the distribution of their goods, the quality of all of these creative efforts will decline.
