Even with inflation, seems pretty cheap in comparison to other stories you hear about groups being given hundreds of thousands of dollars upfront to record and then having these groups bitch about how they blew through their money and didn't get their record done OR they got their record done and it was shit and sold like shit.
Sticky fingers has sold like ~20 million copies (last I checked) and is regarded as one of the best Rolling Stones albums and one of the best '70s albums altogether.
Not bad ROI on two songs.
Also, even though everyone seems to know 'Brown Sugar', 'Wild Horses', and 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking', IMHO: 'Sway' and 'Moonlight Mile' are some of the best songs but, honestly, I can always put this record on and listen to the whole thing start to finish. Certainly one of my faves while driving for long periods.
To me it actually seem more on the higher end from todays perspective. Assuming that the "13 1/2 Studio Time" is in hours not days.
What I have seen usually being quoted by professional studios in Switzerland is around $150-250 per hour for studio+engineer with discounts if you book days.
But the recording sessions are only a small part of the process from writing to publication of music. And what really racks up the cost if one starts adding big names to any part of the production. If you just stick with professionals that charge for their services, not their brand, you can actually get great productions for not too much money.
>> seems pretty cheap in comparison to other stories you hear about groups
I remember hearing stories about how Nirvana recorded "Bleach" for $600. The story goes Chris Novoselic went to the founder of Sub Pop records and demanded they be under contract. The founder basically took a stock contract that he copied at the local library for .10 and had them sign it - giving them royalties on Bleach and Nevermind.
Turns out when all the grunge bands were going to the big labels, those Nirvana royalties effectively allowed them to stay in business during their lean times.
But you're right. I heard many, many stories of the hair bands getting signed, then going on a drug and spending binge and then never being able to complete their contractual obligations to the label.
>Even with inflation, seems pretty cheap in comparison to other stories you hear about groups being given hundreds of thousands of dollars upfront to record and then having these groups bitch about how they blew through their money and didn't get their record done
Those stories are about the total budget to produce an album, this is just the cost of the studio time and tapes. I'd bet the producer alone made more than $1000 for this song, and there would be many other people getting similar amounts.
My menory is faded on this one, but IIRC there's an interview with 50 Cent where he talks about recording his first song. The producer wanted something like $50k but 50 Cent asked if instead he wanted royalties instead.
The producer was undecided but eventually said royalties, and ended up getting millions
They say the key to innovation (i.e., creativity) is scarcity. Low budget is obviously a form of scarcity.
It certainly would be interesting to see a sample of albums, the studio bill, the marketing bill, and then the sales / revenue. I'm sure there are exceptions but I bet big bets correlate with big busts :)
Sticky fingers has sold like ~20 million copies (last I checked) and is regarded as one of the best Rolling Stones albums and one of the best '70s albums altogether.
Not bad ROI on two songs.
Also, even though everyone seems to know 'Brown Sugar', 'Wild Horses', and 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking', IMHO: 'Sway' and 'Moonlight Mile' are some of the best songs but, honestly, I can always put this record on and listen to the whole thing start to finish. Certainly one of my faves while driving for long periods.