What Celia is talking about with this statement: “The model of merging indie labels and creating a label services central hub makes a lot of sense to me. Most labels can’t afford to finance full production, royalties, accounting, merchandising, synch licensing and related services so amertizing the risk with many labels creating a hub makes the most sense.” is exactly what World’s Fair is trying to do. We are empowering labels to be able to work together and save money doing it. It’s a relatively new model of doing business and (while it’s been a struggle - like all new businesses are) it seems to be working. We are constantly trying to find more affordable ways to do business for everyone involved - which also helps the artists.

I find one seriously debilitating problem is that many artists have a sense of entitlement. That they feel just because they make great art (music) that they deserve to make a great living from it. As a manager, I have to remind artists that this is the “business of music” and that to make money - one must earn it. Sounds like a simple concept, but for many it’s hard to accept. I wish it worked differently, but it doesn’t. And, frankly the more successful an artist, the harder the work becomes - there’s more pressure to succeed and it’s harder to get people to pay attention again (as opposed to pay attention the first time). Wayne (from the Flaming Lips) is simply the hardest working person I know in the show business and this is how he’s been able to survive the ups and downs of being in a band for the last 20 years.

Fortunately for myself - the Lips and myself have formed a great partnership over the years. A partnership of business and art. This is how artists and record labels are going to survive into the 21st century. Even if the means of distribution is purely digital, there still is the cost of recording (and even if that goes down next to nothing due to digital recording abilities getting better and better) you still need man power to help promote the music to various sources through either licensing or the press. A band most likely won’t have the time to deal with the business side as well as the art side - so they need a partner. Perhaps the labels will become that partner - more like a manager that helps distribute the artists albums than a stand alone entity paying for the recording and then sending it out to the world.