25 Years In The Life Of A Bedroom Producer.

Magdelayna

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Approximately what percentage of the revenue goes to the producer for a sale of a track on Beatport/Juno/iTunes, etc?

I've read that on Bandcamp around 80% of the revenue goes to the artist.

You definatly get less through the other platforms. I have a 2013 release through BP,itunes etc and ive made about 15 euros and the threshold to get paid is 75 euros...so ill never see that money lol!!


If i sell something for £5 on BC,i get about £3.70 i think..so it might be around 75%. Paypal also takes a small fee.
 
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Magdelayna

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Beatport takes 50% I think.

But thats not all. Dont forget the labels that released it. Lots of small labels only pay out royalties once a certain amount is reached. For example, the first 100 euro is for the label, and only after that, you get 50% (or whatever).

The thing is, trance sales are very low. Most tracks don’t get 100 sales. You only need a few dozens to get into the top 100 (for trance).

That threshold means that most artists will never be paid as the threshold is high...its really wrong.
 
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dmgtz96

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Those revenue numbers are... wow
Didn't Hybrid also release the numbers for their earnings from streaming services? As far as I remember, the numbers were really low, too.
 
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Archon

Gagi
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Treshold, in my opionion is mostly used by BIG labels, not smaller.

Well, it's wrong. :D I had a release on a relatively small label, and there was a threshold. It was around 50 Euros or something.
 

Propeller

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Jul 20, 2020
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Interesting
Actually i just found out from a sale today that Bandcamp's cut is 15%, which is pretty decent...
I've bought Ableton and a mini-studio set up myself recently. Just need to read the manual and get going with making my own tracks. It's 700 pages long though. o_O

It seems like most producers aren't making much, if any money, nowadays. Yet, paradoxically, the trance and prog scene seems to be awash with artists. The releases come thick and fast and there seems to be a countless numbers of labels out there too.

So, it's a little strange. Maybe the labels make good money and it's lucrative to own a label considering that earnings thresholds are used. Or maybe making music has become accessible to so many, like myself, and people are making tracks just for the enjoyment of it, not caring about whether they make money or not.

Another possibility is that artists are in it mainly to get themselves noticed and then get DJ bookings. There must be plenty of money in this surely. I'd love to know the thoughts of any other artists who use this site.
 
D

delphion

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Which do you class as big? The one im talking about is Abora with a threshold. Ive never recieved any money from any label release over 14 years.
I was talking about Armada and Cloud 9 Publishing for example. Didnt get much bigger then that on trance scene. They also rip you off doesnt pay for small artists.

My track was on ASOT 2006 Yearmix by Armin, I never got a penny. Actually not remember even signing a contract lol. Sent them email, never got any answer.
 
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Magdelayna

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Interesting

I've bought Ableton and a mini-studio set up myself recently. Just need to read the manual and get going with making my own tracks. It's 700 pages long though. o_O

It seems like most producers aren't making much, if any money, nowadays. Yet, paradoxically, the trance and prog scene seems to be awash with artists. The releases come thick and fast and there seems to be a countless numbers of labels out there too.

So, it's a little strange. Maybe the labels make good money and it's lucrative to own a label considering that earnings thresholds are used. Or maybe making music has become accessible to so many, like myself, and people are making tracks just for the enjoyment of it, not caring about whether they make money or not.

Another possibility is that artists are in it mainly to get themselves noticed and then get DJ bookings. There must be plenty of money in this surely. I'd love to know the thoughts of any other artists who use this site.

well its just the essence of the digital age - everything is so disposal and forgettable. I wished i produced properly in the late 90's - maybe i wouldve had some physical releases on vinyl. Instead i was starting out on Music 2000 on the Playstation,making 150bpm disonant Techno haha. I dont regret the journey for an instant though. I like to think of it as i was in that moment of time when that was released,and i learnt basics on that - and that was my own personal journey. Everyone has their own.
 
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delphion

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Im nearly on 20 million plays now..during this lockdown my plays have quadrupled..i think my peak was 90k plays a day which is crazy!! Yeah my set-up is literally just Logic Pro and a mouse.
Mate, congrats!! You really deserve it. I think you gonna get a nice paycheck for these views :)
 
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Magdelayna

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I was talking about Armada and Cloud 9 Publishing for example. Didnt get much bigger then that on trance scene. They also rip you off doesnt pay for small artists.

My track was on ASOT 2006 Yearmix by Armin, I never got a penny. Actually not remember even signing a contract lol. Sent them email, never got any answer.

Theres probably a lot more than you think with a threshold - it probably helps them make more money by postponing payments - but how the hell does that help artists?! This is why Bandcamp is becoming more and more popular with the bigger artists like Activa.
 
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Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
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Interesting

I've bought Ableton and a mini-studio set up myself recently. Just need to read the manual and get going with making my own tracks. It's 700 pages long though. o_O

It seems like most producers aren't making much, if any money, nowadays. Yet, paradoxically, the trance and prog scene seems to be awash with artists. The releases come thick and fast and there seems to be a countless numbers of labels out there too.

So, it's a little strange. Maybe the labels make good money and it's lucrative to own a label considering that earnings thresholds are used. Or maybe making music has become accessible to so many, like myself, and people are making tracks just for the enjoyment of it, not caring about whether they make money or not.

Another possibility is that artists are in it mainly to get themselves noticed and then get DJ bookings. There must be plenty of money in this surely. I'd love to know the thoughts of any other artists who use this site.

Relatively smaller labels make almost no money at all. They still have to pay for mastering, promotion etc, and often times the income from sales doesn't even match that - that's why the threshold is there, to allow them to potentially return the invested money. You can ask Enlusion or any other label-owner on TranceFix. It's not there because of pure greed or spite.

A lot of artists are in it simply to get gigs, yeah. A couple of releases gets them noticed by DJs, who play their tracks. That gets them some popularity, and then, after they are popular enough for a certain gig, they may get asked to spin some tracks. And then you have to repeat the process again and again. And after you've done that a certain amount of times, you can earn a living from that money. But you do have to turn into a production line.

My advice? Find your own sound and care about nothing else. And if you need help, I have some experience with Ableton, and I'm sure there are a few others who do as well, so you can ask either directly or make a thread.
 

Magdelayna

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s.

My track was on ASOT 2006 Yearmix by Armin, I never got a penny. Actually not remember even signing a contract lol. Sent them email, never got any answer.

Yeah i had a track licenced from an indie label onto Armada - as it was chosen by Chicane to go on his first Sun:Sets CD release - ive never recieved a penny for that track from both labels lol. I think you just expect nothing nowadays from labels.
 
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Archon

Gagi
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Theres probably a lot more than you think with a threshold - it probably helps them make more money by postponing payments - but how the hell does that help artists?! This is why Bandcamp is becoming more and more popular with the bigger artists like Activa.

As with Bandcamp, yeah it's a good choice for earning money, but releases on labels make you more relevant, a more known name. Bandcamp presupposes self-promotion. I know you're good at it, but a release (or 10) on a big label would get you there faster.
 
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Magdelayna

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Relatively smaller labels make almost no money at all. They still have to pay for mastering, promotion etc, and often times the income from sales doesn't even match that

very true - i think a smaller labels biggest hope is that they get that holy grail of a ASOT play which will boost their potential to invite bigger producers to the label,and you can build from there.
 

Magdelayna

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As with Bandcamp, yeah it's a good choice for earning money, but releases on labels make you more relevant, a more known name. Bandcamp presupposes self-promotion. I know you're good at it, but a release (or 10) on a big label would get you there faster.

Well yes,theres the massive drawback for Bandcamp - you dont get the potential DJ promo support. I suppose it depends what you want as a producer...im more about the 'artistry' of it all than the politics of the scene.
 
D

delphion

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If you want I can share my Statement for payments but for my track Lumi which was released on feb got 150 000 listens on Spotify got me about 160 pounds (its now on 240k streams). So not much. But from sales? Zero. I didnt get almost any support for the track.

I think youtube streams gets you less per view?
 

Magdelayna

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Jul 13, 2020
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If you want I can share my Statement for payments but for my track Lumi which was released on feb got 150 000 listens on Spotify got me about 160 pounds (its now on 240k streams). So not much. But from sales? Zero. I didnt get almost any support for the track.

I think youtube streams gets you less per view?

It varies on Youtube,different countries have their own money per click...somewhere like Switzerland is quite high,im not sure why.
 
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