mp3 artist royalty payouts

Completely randomly, I saw a sweet band earlier this week called the Ian McFeron Band for $5 at a local venue. Actually, it was only $2.50, considering the $5 cover was for both bands that played that night. Well, really, it was $1.67 since there were 3 bands playing that night, but anyhow, we only stayed for two, so $2.50 seems accurate enough for me…

Anyhow, I spaced it while at the show and didn’t buy a CD ($10), but then realized I wanted their music. Out of force of habit, I checked the iTunes music store first, and then realized I would be purchasing a DRM encumbered piece of crap. Ugh, no thanks.

The next logical stop was Amazon. Whee, no DRM, and the price of the album was only $6.99 — $3 cheaper than iTunes. Success!

Oh waitaminute, am I screwing over a band I like? Well, arguably yes, since I didn’t just buy their CD at the show, but how about my attempt to remedy my earlier mistake? Should I just suck it up and buy from iTunes anyway?

Well, it turns out that both Amazon and iTunes pay out at the same rate. Nice. Everyone wins (except Apple, and they’ll soon figure it out, so yay for capitalism).

Here are some more links for your education:

• Search digital audio insider for ‘payout’
• How much of a 99-cent iTunes download do I get to keep? along with a simple breakdown and a detailed breakdown.

And of course, check out the Ian McFeron Band — they’re great, and at $6.99 for an entire album, you’re not gonna lose.