Re: What does Kate Bush do for money?

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (chris williams)]

In article <BzuEBC.Ez8@news.cso.uiuc.edu> jeffo@uiuc.edu (J.B. Nicholson-Owens) writes:
>I'm just guessing, but I can't imagine her album sales being so high  
>that she can afford to take off a few years.  Does she have another job  
>somewhere?

   Well, she doesn't pose for Penthouse. Really, if you are smart enough
and have clout enough and an income already you can negotiate a *much*
better deal with a record company than the usual one that new artists
usually get. Most bands and singers get signed to a dreadful deal that
gives the record company a vast amount of power over the resulting
album, control over cover art and promotion, and the ownership of both
the songs and the recording, in exchange for a large initial sum. This
is a good deal if you are not very talented and plan to be a one hit
wonder, but is not a good idea if you are a solid talent and plan to be
in music for a long time.

   Kate and her family took a long time to consider the offer from EMI
and formed a corporation, Novercia, that would own all of Kate Bush's
music. Novercia finances the recording and delivers a finished master
tape to EMI at the end of the process. EMI never *hears* a thing until
the final mix is done. By contrast, the recording is usually overseen
by an "A&R" person who steers the session in favor of the company's
interest. 

   By maintaining the "mechanical copyright" to her recordings Kate
gets far more per recording than the usual, and has the right to decide
the course of her carrer. But this independence costs quite a bit; one
reason Del Palmer engineers Kate's records is that he's a lot cheaper
than other engineers. If she tried to hire a top-notch engineer for
3 years, Kate's next album would have to cost $45.00 a copy.

                                   Chris Williams
                                     chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu

A


>
>Thanks,
>-- 
>-- Jeff (jeffo@uiuc.edu)
>-- NeXTmail welcome