They Don’t Make Hits Like They Used To!

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December 10, 2010{ 21 Comments }

iStock 000000400600XSmall 300x165 They Dont Make Hits Like They Used To!No. I’m not talking about the quality of modern songwriting. (That is a whole other topic!) I’m talking about the radical shift in HOW a song becomes a hit. Long gone are the days when radio play and chart position were the sole methods of measuring the “success” of a song. Today, an artist can have 15 million YouTube views without a single spin on a commercial station. A band might make big bucks licensing songs for TV commercials but never sell much beyond 5,000 copies of their disc. Instead of checking the Billboard Hot 100, now you’ve got to look at multiple indicators, including:

*Album sales

*Commercial, satellite, community, & college radio play

*Online streams

*Downloads

*YouTube views

*Ringtones

*Licensing revenue

*Facebook mentions, tweets, etc.

*How often the song is shared on blogs

The good news is that we now live in a world where an indie artist has just as good a chance of having a “hit” song as a major label act. Compared to even ten years ago, there are so many more venues in which a song can wield its true power. You might not make mad millions, but more and more artists are earning decent livings off of songs that would have gone nowhere (not based on merit, but because of how the system was set up) in past decades. And that sounds like a very good thing to me.

If you’d like to listen to a related, 3-minute NPR story on this topic, click HERE.

-Chris R. at CD Baby

Chris Robley's Author Bio

  • http://www.rachelwalkertrio.com Rachel

    Hey Thanks guys for the info!!
    Appreciate it!!
    Have yourself a merry little day!!
    Rachel

  • http://www.drewgilman.com Drew Gilman

    This is so true. The business model for the music industry has changed dramatically. The traditional music industry is still working to catch up. As an indie artist myself I am working to use viral marketing to get my music out to new listeners instead of just the local community. I can’t wait to see what will happen with the industry in the next 10 years.

  • http://www.voicesofeden.com http://www.voicesofeden.com

    Thanks for the post. As a composer of healing music and music for meditation, the shift in the music industry has been a boon for me. Having such a specialty niche has become a benefit, as the internet takes over as a way to market.

    There is so much still to learn. It is exciting.

  • http://www.danosongs.com Dan-O | DanoSongs.com

    Dont forget bit torrent and seo. My tracks have been downloaded millions of times with these two methods.

    Dan-O | DanoSongs.com

  • http://www.myspace.com/keenanclassicaljazz Keenan Baxter

    I’m so glad to hear this, I get so many fellow musicians who say they want to get “Signed” by a major label, and then when they do – Nothing happens! I even had a fellow musician had a “Professional” tell her not to Publish her music on Youtube!!! ANd, Not to publish her music on the internet!! Can you imagine that is PROFESSIONAL ADVICE!?W?W?

  • http://www.cutter1969.blogspot.com Calactus

    Interesting, as a composer/recording artist it’s reassuring to have a variety of outlets; rather than trying to cut it on The X-Factor!

  • http://www.micasongs.com micasongs.com

    Great info,

    Thanks!

  • http://www.findingparadisejazz.com John Pedersen

    Nice article. While it’s true that there are so many more venues in which to expose one’s music, there isn’t as much money in it. Like Dano, see above, I get alot of torrent downloads, but those are freebies. Many other digital distribution sites only pay me a few cents for a downloaded single. I am prominently recognized on the search engines, but, unfortunately don’t have the sales to match.

  • http://www.alproduction.com.my Composer Arun

    Good review.
    People wants entertainment for free,thats d fact.
    Music/arts been over supply till there is no demand.More over in this IT generation,everyone wants to have d songs on Pc,laptop,iphone,ipod n etc in digital low bit rate mp3 and that makes save their money from buy the cd.
    I hope my people dont read this.Frankly speaking as one of the top artist/composer in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia & Singapore.Recently i had include in the cd inlay itself, 10%cd royalty goes to school.
    Majority of ppl just dont care bout quality,no human values and charity and wants things for free and etc.
    Albums are independent without visual support and huge promotions,whos money need to use other than their own.Not like film, visual support,sell to tv stations, and etc.So there are various source of income,Film in Cinema,Tv,dvd,audio cd,caller tune,iTunes,royalty and ect.
    CD shop retailers earns more with pirated cd rather then support d local original album.They will play out film songs cause it has its ready made publicty,easy.Ends the story
    Nowadays its like everyone could be an audio engineer with own less than 5k studio at home with pirated software and cheap hardware and microphone,become composer with fruity loops,reason n etc.And they still proudly claimed that their songs played in radios.Y do we need protools or logic and expensive hardware,record it at 48khz/96khz 24bit?,The whole quality will end up at 128mp3.Dont need diploma or degree in music and audio eng even a simple certificate.How many big studios have been closed down?.Pioneer well educated composers cracking their head and competing with young dudes without no knowing the actual reason and trend.
    Its not only affecting cd market, but music schools,audio engineering collage,audio company have make cheap hardware to sustain in d market,Cd replication company,major labels,upcoming true talents(true artist will never compete their knowledge silly but their passion will push them to do) and etc.

    Thank god the caller tune cant be pirated :)

    I hope i had cover the major issues.Lot to share but no point,,follow d waves and try to make diff in action.

    True artist will always remain in the field no matter he earns or not till his last breath.

    Mr.Arun
    Company : A L Production
    Designation : Managing Director
    Mobile : +6 019- 380 7015
    Web Site : http://www.alproduction.com.my
    E-Mail 1 : Arun – composerarun@gmail.com
    E-Mail 2 : Company – alproduction@live.com
    Social Network : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Music-Composer-Arun/180051855628
    Social Network : http://www.facebook.com/composerarun
    Social Network : http://profiles.friendster.com/composerarun
    Social Network : http://twitter.com/#!/composerarun
    Social Network : http://www.myspace.com/556629982
    Social Network : http://www.youtube.com/user/composerarun

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNi1RQe28ks Ta’fxkz

    I love it that on youtube i can add my song as a video response to the official video of an artist who’s viewers might dig my songs.

    Not all artists’ rights management groups are generous but there is plenty of cover versions of songs that you sound like that you can add a video response to. I personally avoid pirate uploads.

    Check the video in my website link if you liked this idea. Add me a video response if you have a song that sounds like this one, or has a similar theme.

  • http://www.myspace.com/unfolk unfolk :: alessandro monti

    What? “More artists are earned decent livings off of songs?!?!” WTF? That sounds like a very bad thing to me… totally unreal!

    • Chris R. at CD Baby

      Hey Alessandro, thanks for pointing out that typo! I changed it to “earning.” Not sure how that one slipped by. Onwards!

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/VoceVersatile David Keith Jones

    Thanks for this and other CDB articles. I’m a seventy year old Welsh crossover singer hoping to reach a million hits on You Tube (VoceVersatile) in 2011. Selling downloads (since Feb 2010) takes time and PR work is needed after doing all other development myself. So far I got myself a BBC radio interview, newspaper article and links in my university alumni blog. Song rankings are encouraging with several high places. PR is effective but takes effort – no pain, no gain. iTunes seem to pay on time but Amazon mp3 does not report sales even for highly ranked songs eg ‘Lasciatemi Morire’. I guess my project will not provide a salary – just a small pension addition. But success on a talent show might help! Happy New Year to all CDBers – David (CDB VoceVersatile).

  • http://www.calumcarlyle.co.uk/ Calum Carlyle

    hmm, my music’s on several digital/internet based platforms, but i’m not making any money, or selling any CDs, perhaps there’s something i’m still not grasping.

    I can’t help but think though that while there may be more avenues for musical “success”, there are also an enormous amount more of people outputting music these days (because it’s easier, as Arun said, a lot of the recording/production stuff is now cheaper and more automatic/easy to handle).

    However i think the state of available music for those that spend the time looking is higher nowadays, just as the state of the traditional (20th century model) music industry is atrophying in its coffin.

    So for fans, perhaps this is a good thing, but for professional musicians, watch out, music, for the most part, is being driven back into the arena of the amateur again. And all that means is i still have to hold down a full time job to pay the mortgage and do music in my “spare” time! :-)

  • http://www.chrisdairmusic.net Chris Dair

    the music business used to be just that, the music business – of course they produced great music, but they also produced a lot of rubbish too, they get it wrong just like anyone else – the difference now is that it is no longer just them running the show – the indie artist has a fair chance of becoming known, and gradually more power. It’s the great music that will survive and great music will continue to sell.

  • http://www.abridgeclub.com Angela Russ-Ayon

    And, don’t forget niche marketing and making music for private entities. My children’s record label is doing that with sales through direct mail order and catalogs. I am not making millions, but I’m supporting my family without having to go back to a full-time job.

  • Toobyeler

    I guess it’s not a matter of how brilliant a song is nowadays, now it’s like whatever is the catchiest original melody and all around song seems to what wins, i just miss when artists of the past made music that was timeless end on end, and it can still be that way, noobody concentrates hard enough to really make a thoughtful and heartful tune like the way it’s always been done.

  • http://www.13rock.com Neal Sowers

    It’s a good thing! Artists are not limited to just touring in clubs and bars while earning peanuts, to try to catch a break. Now, it’s totally up to the talent! If a song is really good, you can virtually market it yourself, for free in most cases! http://www.13rock.com
    Neal Sowers

  • http://www.dmlcartel.com Dodd Michael Lede

    I think this article holds much relevance, but the truth be told, just because anyone can readily put music in all of these various forums, it doesn’t mean that they should.

    I’m not a music critic by any stretch of the imagination, but there is a lot of music out there that probably shouldn’t be. I’m not saying that these artists stop putting out music, but there are lots of songs with sloppy performance or premature mixes and overall bad production quality.

    The thing about the old school music labels is that they spent more time with artists developing their crafts, refining their songs, and building a solid plan into place that would help the longevity of their careers.

    I know that greed somehow squeezed its way into the art of this, but these are principals that younger artists should try to adapt into their thinking.

    Too many young, or dare I say, IMPATIENT, musicians release their music just to get it out as quickly as they can. You can find some really great music all over the Internet, but sometimes you have to sift through a lot of disappointing fodder before you can find those gems.

    This is what A&R people used to do. They sifted through the BS for the true art.

    So I would recommend to all aspiring musicians and artists, take the time to refine your craft, get some outside opinion from trusted sources, refine your craft some more, test a couple of songs with the general public, and then refine your craft some more before putting out an entire catalog of sloppy music.

    If you care to comment or discuss further, please feel free to contact me at dodd@dmlcartel.com. I love talking shop with other musicians. And please note, I’m only speaking from my own personal experience.

    Best Regards,

    Dodd Michael Lede
    The DML Cartel

    http://www.dmlcartel.com
    http://www.twitter.com/dmlcartel
    http://www.myspace.com/dmlcartel
    http://www.acousticoutlaw.com
    http://youtube.com/dlede2007
    http://www.reverbnation.com/dmlcartel

  • http://www.joepriceblues.com Vicki Price

    The problem with all of this is that there are literally millions of people who want to play music for a living. The competition is fierce and will continue to get more so. The market is glutted with bad music and bad musicians. People pay out money for music, feel like they get robbed because it is not good and they stop buying. People go out to hear music and find themselves bored and feeling once again that they wasted their money. There is so much entertainment available that they will simply go do something besides hear live music. The business has it’s advantages and disadvantages, you just have to work through it.

  • http://LoveRecordsUSA.com Alan hartwell

    I may be late in adding to this article but I have been in the music business over 50 years as an independant lable and have watched it change, If anyone out there can tell all of us how to get a song onto u-tube, and then profit from it, I wish they would. I can’t add any useful information because I have had a few actual hits the old way by radio play so I still have demand titles that sell. It is a niche that most do not have.