Because it doesn’t matter. And soon it will matter even less. And because outside of your friends, family and (if you’re lucky) your small music community, no one gives a queen’s ass about your band, your youtube channel, or your twitter feed. As proven by all of your (and mine) twitter feeds, youtube channels and bands.

The fact is you are NOT going to get rich and/or famous playing music. And only the EXTREMELY lucky and talented and creative and handsome can even make a living off of their art or music or whatever. The best musicians I know make their money working for worse bands that are way luckier. 

And as I pointed out earlier, NO ONE CARES. At All. About you or your band. Period. So if someone with a check book comes along and says they are willing to help, be extremely cautious about your decision to “DO IT YOURSELF” before telling said person or persons to shove it.

I have seen so many, SO MANY, people turn down opportunities, only to later turn to Kickstarter or some other panhandle-y situation to come up with the necessary funds to do whatever it is they thought they could do on their own.

Here’s the rub. In all likelihood, if you are given the opportunity to sign to a major label, you already have a fanbase and have proven some things along the way. And in that case, not only doesn’t this apply to you, but you probably aren’t even concerned with what I have to say anyhow. 

BUT - if you are a young band, just starting out, and a label offers you cash. TAKE IT. It is the last time you will make ANY money selling music. Make sure you are constantly touring, and building your fanbase with their money and their team of interns.

The labels don’t know how to sell music in 2011 any more than you do, but they do have a lot of people working on it. More people than you would have talking about your band without them.

The more people that stand to make money off you, the more people selling your band. That can’t be a bad thing. 

I know all the stigmas that come along with this. And 1995 me wouldn’t piss on 2011 me to put me out. But the bottom line is, NO ONE CARES. You are going to get shelved and leak the record on your own on Pirate Bay and MegaUpload in either case. In the meantime, take their money. Please. Help them go out of business. And if GOD FORBID your plan backfires and you do sell tons of records, awesome, that’s better off than you would have been without those guys.

You know, just one way to look at it.