Re:Erroll Garner, the First Artist to Sue a Major Label and Win
by TheOtherHobbes on Tuesday November 26, 2019 @02:59AM
(#21636384)
It's been a long time since a complete unknown got enough of an advance to buy a Lamborghini.
Advances used to be seed funding, but now they're more like later series funding. Artists don't get them until they're up and running as a business, and they're treated more like investor input in exchange for management equity - politically and financially - than free cash.
In a very real sense, the music business pioneered the VC model. If you strip away the glamour from music, there are some very familiar relationships and strategies (and scams) on the business side.
Advances used to be seed funding, but now they're more like later series funding. Artists don't get them until they're up and running as a business, and they're treated more like investor input in exchange for management equity - politically and financially - than free cash.
In a very real sense, the music business pioneered the VC model. If you strip away the glamour from music, there are some very familiar relationships and strategies (and scams) on the business side.