American Classic Recordings

Twenty years ago, when I started this artist-driven record label, we independent musicians dreamed of succeeding economically as well as artistically. Yes, we needed to invest in recordings. But that was a pleasure when you work with pro audio engineers. And it was possible to make at least some of that money back through live shows, downloads, and/or CD sales--not only by mail order but also by record stores. Meanwhile, CDbaby.com, a warm and kooky West Coast company founded by Derek Severs--provided a convenient place to sell our wares with eye-catching displayed our our designed CD cover art. Also, MusicSupervisor.com, founded by the talent Barry Coffing, offered us convenient access to music supervisors for licensing income. Who knows, Hollywood might come calling! Today that infrastructure is largely gone. Recording studios, CDBaby.com and Musicsupervisor.com all still exist--thank the Lord--but they have had to pare down their services. The great new reality is streaming. And unlike the old sources of income (shows, CDs downloads, or licensing) streaming brings in only fractions of fractions of fractions of pennies. Then again, on the bright side, streaming has brought our music to people who may never have encountered it before the streaming revolution. Therefore, recording artists can take heart. Streaming has ruined the economics of the music business, but it has not killed the love of music and never will.