Promoters pay for venue slots. Not bands. Managers work with Promoters, not bands. Radio stations receive huge amounts of kick backs, generally in two ways, 1 is for listing their song in their COUNTDOWN and two is for playing the artists song, near and close, to the local concert dates. Live Nation & CellarDoor/Ticketmaster own almost 90% of the venues, which is sad because their parent company is CLEAR CHANNEL. Do you see how this works? Infinity Radio & Clear Channel have a parent company as well, they are called NEW MEDIA INC. & VIACOM INTERNATIONAL. Again, so here we have it, the entire system of promoting music is all singularly or plurally owned.
There is almost nothing an artist can do in the modern world to be successful, without playing the game. The game can start in two ways, Independent DJS, play ur song in DA CLUB. You sell, UPC code marked, CDs in ur club. Ur CD "Scans" in 10,000 sales, and then "charts". And then you are swooped up by Record Company (BMG, Virgin, Sony) or there is another way.
You can go Manson's route, where he had A&R reps, like Trent Reznor, who produced, molded, and promoted the bands sound. All the way up until he was a commercially viable name & sound.
So splitting with Interscope leaves you in a limbo, for success. Where you can and will be played, in places like, Online Radio Stations, ROFLMAO, or corporate/but/easier to get on rotation/places like XM/Sirius (one company again). You might get your picture in LA Weekly as an unsigned artist. You might date someone popular like Lindsay Lohan, and be another Samantha Ronson, we have tons of unsigned examples, K Fed, unsigned, Paula Abdul, unsigned, Boy George, unsigned.
You will have to rely heavily on your cult status in order to make ends meat. Which no doubt Manson can, if he stops pissing his fans off!
By and by this spells win for everyone, cause now Manson can no longer continue being the Diva asshole towards his fans.
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