30 July 2009 — How The Posies Earn a Living
NPR has an article here about The Posies, and how they earn money (via @sashafrerejones).
It's a story that gets told more often these days, which I think is a good thing. There's no point in just saying "it's impossible to earn money from album sales" and leave it at that. There are ways.
The killer bit is here:
"I actually saw a check for that record that went in my pocket," Auer says. "I never saw a check from the sales of any of the records I've made on the major labels."
That certainly mirrors the experiences of many bands I've known who were signed to majors at some point. Of course, it's still worth it because you get to hang out with coke dealers!