360 Artist Deals: All bad?

Although I agree that in most situations when dealing with the majors, the so-called 360 deals do not work for artists, it is mostly because the labels are not properly staffed to exploit the rights that they obtain from the artists and the artists’ share of revenue is still calculated using convoluted and unfair accounting methods. If, however, the deal is structured in a way where the company, not necessarily a traditional record label, participates in all of an artist’s revenue streams, the company is properly equipped to aggressively exploit those rights and the economics provide for an equitable split of receipts, the deal could be mutually beneficial. Under the right conditions both artist and company are equally incentivized and can focus on the most profitable or creatively desirable revenue streams. Changing market conditions continue to reduce revenue derived from sales, physical and digital collectively. Still, the companies that make the substantial investment in developing, recording and marketing brands (artists are brands), are entitled to earn a reasonable return on their investment. Now, that means participating in the multiple revenue streams generated from the exploitation of the brands they build.