Exclusive: The New Music World of Devon Graves

05/12/2012 @ 12:27
Devon Graves, the voice of Psychotic Waltz and also one of the most unique artists in recent rock music shares his thoughts about music business and presents exclusively through Rocking.gr his new way to share his music straight with his fans.

Devon Graves

Situation:

The music business is in a dire state. Record companies are either going bankrupt or selling to whatever major will take it over.

Everywhere, the world is turning to the internet to find what they are looking for, be it music or anything else. Because of that, the world of physical media for music is fast disintegrating. It is easy to blame illegal downloads and pirating for record sales dropping over the last years. But I think this is not the real problem. LPs in the 1980s sold for $7.99 (and there was another invention called a cassette tape recorder by where you could record a friend’s copy of an album for free). Vinyl LPs cost to manufacture was incredibly high by today’s comparison, since the equipment was very expensive, very delicate, and took scientists to operate. Studio time for major studios was also thousands of dollars per day for a production. Millions were spent on recording budgets alone at times. When CDs first came out they cost 13.99. Nearly double the price of a vinyl LP. A CD player cost $700. A CD recorder cost $20,000. A blank recordable Compact Disk was $15.99 The cost was justified by bringing in all new technology into manufacturing. Well, let’s look at it now: Digital production and manufacturing devices are dirt cheap. A recordable CD is 0.50 cents retail, and everybody has a free CD recorder with their laptop. Digital recording has become so affordable that nearly anyone in the world can have a full production recording studio for less money than a bad used car. And labels are paying pennies on the dollar (or Euro) to the artist compared to 20 years ago, and often noting at all. So now, why is it that a new CD costs $17.99 or so, when on all other counts, the costs to produce are next to nothing?

I think people stopped buying it because the price crossed over the value level, plain and simple.

Movies on DVD, for example, cost a lot more to make than music albums, and are infinitely more complex to produce and create. Making a movie is probably the hardest thing in the world to do. Plus the DVD medium is a major upgrade as well. The DVD retails for about the same 17.99. In 3 months that price drops to 9.99 (that is when I buy a lot). A few more months on that same DVD is going for as low as 4.99 by early the next year. I buy movies up at that price. Ones I never heard of even. It’s just a great deal to me because I love movies.

I love music too, but I don’t want to spend 16.99 for a two year old CD when I can buy a two year old movie on DVD for 4.99 and sometimes less.

So I decided try something a bit different.

Welcome to my World...

www.devon-graves.com (coming soon...)

This is not simply a web site to promote my music, but a complete revolution in the way I want to connect to my listeners, and bring my new (and some not so new) music to those who want to hear it.

I intend to bypass the music labels, distributors and retailers, each of whom needs to double the return of their costs along the way. In fact I am bypassing everyone who stands between the music and the listener with their hands out to be paid. My music, direct from me to you. In fact, it connects all the fans directly to me, and I directly to them. People can contact me directly and I can respond personally either through our Discussion Forums, or by Email. This is my personal grand project. To create my own platform. My own way of bringing my music and more, to the world. This will be the core of my World, and the official fanclub, if you like.

How much do I ask for my music? Answer: How ever much you feel it is worth to you. What sounds fair to you? Just donate whatever you can, or think is fair. A CD for 5 Euros? Fine. Even 1 euro is better than nothing to me. In fact, if you really cannot afford to pay anything, or it’s impossible for you at the moment for any reason (You don’t feel like it, for example), I would rather give it to you than keep it from you. There are people who will find a way to download it free even if I make it impossible here. So let me just make it easy for everyone. I give it freely, and you can donate (or not) freely in return via Paypal (or not).

The distribution is via internet, full CD resolution downloadable as well as MP3. All freely available to anyone who has an email address. I also plan to make physical media like CDs, Vinyl LPs and DVDs available by mail order. In a way it is my own label for my own work. My own radio station, my own record store. My own connection to the people that dig my music. If I get enough support, I will continue onward this way always. Sounds like fun to me!

Fair?

Devon Graves
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