Part 5/12:
The Changing Economics of Record Sales and Royalties
Bato explains that sales of singles and albums have drastically declined. Where platinum records once sold 10+ million units, now such successes are rare; even a million units sold is considered a huge achievement. Instead, only artists like Drake, Taylor Swift, and Adele regularly cross that threshold.
Artists' income from conventions such as record royalties has also diminished. Advances on songs—typically around $3,000—are now recoupable costs that must be paid back from earnings before royalties kick in. Producers' cut points (percentage earnings) have decreased; where in the past a top producer like Max Martin might earn a significant share of profits, today, with less record sales, such earnings are far more limited.