How to buy a music CD so the most money goes to the artist.

[Super_Geo]

I'll openly admit that I download most of my music from torrent sites. But there are a handful of people that I have the utmost respect for as musicians and performers and I make sure to buy all their albums that I can.

That being said, what purchase method ends up putting the most money in the artist's pocket? iTunes? Buying the CD online? In a store? Haha ideally I'd rahter just download the CD from a torrent site and paypal the guy $15 :rofl:

[3g4u]

I am the same, but if i like the music i will buy the CD so i can have the album art and a hard copy to put up on my wall. I think that buying the actual album is the best way to get money to the band. IMO

[finboy]

Originally posted by 3g4u
I am the same, but if i like the music i will buy the CD so i can have the album art and a hard copy to put up on my wall. I think that buying the actual album is the best way to get money to the band. IMO

:werd:

i usually buy from stores, or used online if its an older album. honestly, most artists make their money from shows and the merchendise sold at those shows, so if you want to really support them, buy those as well as the album.

[Seanith]

What if you buy it directly from the artist via their website or their record company?

[rmk]

^ Was thinking the same thing. Direct from their online store, the more rare or indie the artist the better! Although, there will always be people that get their cut.

With so much crap out there nowadays, it's really hard to pony up the cash to buy music. I usually download some tracks from LW or IT and then if the artist put out an entire cd that is worthy, off to HMV I go and happily buy it.

[benyl]

Even if you buy a CD directly from the artist, they usually only get a $1 for the $15 you pay them.

That is why the artists don't necessarily care if you download... it is the record companies that have the most to lose.

[Euro838]

From what I have read, many artists(with bigger labels) get a royalty from album sales but they'll have a contract to produce x number of albums, etc. with the record label. Not sure how it's done for small or independents.

I figure it's way too much hassle to get a mere $15-20 to an artist that the fact that I am willing to buy their album in the first place is support enough. How much they get is dependent on how smart they are in structuring their contracts and royalty terms.