From Idolization to admiration. New thoughts for a new Music business paradigm.

I have undergone a paradigm shift that is quite a relief. Instead of say, worshipping Mick Jagger, or whoever, I merely admire people now. And I'm talking about people like Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, Tim Ferris. People with ideas. People with tangible, workable plans that you can follow and improve upon their patterns for success. And people who you can actually get in touch with! Like my teacher at UCLA Extension's Practical aspects of the music business, Dina Lapolt, who has got to be the most dynamic Music Lawyer in this city. Or Jordan Berliant, or Steve Winogradsky, some of the people she's had speaking in the class.
See, I fought in my head for years, the whole idea of itunes, of record labels going under. But now I understand that it's a good thing. We can be 'blue collar songwriters.' We can work at our craft and churn out our own art at our own rate. We don't have to be slowed down by slothful record label executives who waste too much money and time. Let's compare some possibilities here. Say I'm one of the few bands who actually 'makes it' and sells, say 500,000 records. First of all, even to get to that point is virtually an impossibility. Anyways, let's say I get to that point. I'm on a major label, my album went gold. So we're getting like a dime back per album- so I got like 50 grand. But then I got to pay them back for all the money spent on recording, whatever, etc. Plus pay the whole band. Well, If I'm putting my CD out by myself, making 10 bucks a pop, I only have to sell 1% of that to make the same amount. And I can just go straight for pleasing my own target market. Instead of wasting my time and energy on trying to kiss everyone's butt! I've finally realized that I'm going to stop giving out CD's to people that don't want to listen to them. I've wasted so much energy giving CD's to people who usually end up probably using them for coasters for their coffee or whatever. Never again. If you want my music you can go get it online and pay for it! I'm going to be releasing plenty of it, so even if each tune sells a fraction of what it would if I were on national radio, it'll still make me something.
So, I consider myself a blue collar songwriter. Say I'm putting out itunes, touring here and there, and making 50 grand a year.
A lot of people would think that's not a lot of money, but I've lived on 5-10 grand a year the last, say, decade and a half. So I can stretch 50 grand a year. That is my goal, because i want to have a family soon. Actually, in my head I was hoping for 100 grand a year by the time I'm 40, in seven years. I do think it's quite possible I'll get some of my songwriting licensed, etc. for music and films. My epiphany I had in class yesterday after listening to Jordan Berliant speak, was that I wanted to master the business end music- then I would be free to continue working on the creative aspect. What a lot of people don't understand,
including a very intelligent young lawyer who I was recently conversing with, is that it IS an artist's job to take care of the Practical aspects of the music business. People think that we the songwriters are just supposed to lay about helplessly waiting for inspiration to strike and then shovel up our art into some waiting millionaire's headphones, and "that guy" is finally going to make all of our dreams come true. Sorry, but it very rarely happens anymore!