TUESDAY APRIL 15, 2014 VOLUME 120 ISSUE 115 Serving The University of Alabama since 1894
CULTURE | MUSIC
iTunes gets 30% 38.7 cents
PURCHASE Buy a song for $1.29
Publisher gets varying cut Record label gets 70% 90.3 cents
Recording artist gets 8-25%
25% goes to packaging fees
Recoupment fees sent to label
Artist splits profit with band and manager
CW | Hannah Glenn and Belle Newby *Information obtained from entertainment.howstuffworks.com/music-royalties The majority of money spent on streaming and purchasing music online rarely makes its way back to the artists due to various fees.
Musicians struggle from streaming Independent artists affected by free online music industry By Francie Johnson | Staff Reporter Imagine you’re a musician playing in a cramped, dimly lit dive bar. Suddenly, a man walks up to you, says he’s with a major record label and offers you a record deal. Fast forward a few years, and you’ve got
a chart-topping album, your songs play on radio stations nationwide, and you sip champagne while swimming in a pool of hundred dollar bills. Now, imagine you’re a musician in that same dimly lit bar. A man walks up to you and offers you that exact same record deal. You create that same chart-topping album, and your songs are all still all over the radio – but you never see a dime. You can’t pay your bills. You go bankrupt.
TODAYON CAMPUS Campus art WHAT: “Katherine Bradford: The Golden Age of Exploration” Exhibition WHEN: 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. WHERE: Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, Garland Hall
MFA exhibition WHAT: “How Things Are, How Things Were” Virginia Eckinger MFA Exhibition WHEN: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. WHERE: Sella-Granata Art Gallery, Woods Hall
The truth is, having a hit single and selling millions of albums doesn’t necessarily guarantee financial security for an artist. In fact, the majority of that money never reaches the artist at all. “A lot of people don’t realize that if it sounds too good to be true, it’s too good to be true,” said Evan Brooks, a senior majoring in financial planning and lead singer of local band The Doctors and The Lawyers. “You have to learn that [on] your first day
of being a musician, because if you don’t, you’re gonna get screwed over time and time again.” As independent musicians, The Doctors and The Lawyers sell their music through CD Baby, an aggregator that distributes music to download, and streaming services such as iTunes, Spotify, Rhapsody, Amazon and more. SEE STREAMING PAGE 9
CULTURE | TAX RETURNS
UA students spend, save tax returns Professionals advise saving funds for financial cushion By Alexandra Ellsworth | Staff Reporter With tax season coming to a close, students may find themselves with extra cash burning in their pockets. While most part-time jobs might not produce a high return on taxes, students could be faced with a decision on their tax returns: spend or save? Jan Brakefield, a professor in the department of consumer sciences, said she
You never know when an emergency will happen ... — Jan Brakefield recommends students save what they get back from their taxes. “Don’t blow it,” she said. “It’s going to be different depending on each situation, but if a student doesn’t already have an emergency fund set up, I recommend that
they get one.” Brakefield said it is important to have at least three to six months’ worth of living expenses saved up. “If a student is still relatively dependent on his or her parents, then they may have a smaller emergency fund then say a student who is completely financially independent,” she said. “It’s a good idea to have that cushion in place, though, because you never know when an emergency will happen, and money back from a tax return is a great time to set that up.” SEE TAXES PAGE 9
NEWS | TIDE TALKS
Campus lecture WHAT: “The Boeing 787: Changing the Game” WHEN: 2-3:15 p.m. WHERE: 1013 South Engineering Research Center
Tide Talks to host final event of semester Four students to talk at 7th installment of speaker series By Greg Ward | Contributing Writer
WRC rally WHAT: Take Back the Night march and rally WHEN: 6-7:30 p.m WHERE: Denny Chimes
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Tide Talks, the TED-inspired, student-led speaker series, will wrap up the semester on Friday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m. in Russell Hall Auditorium. The seventh installment of Tide Talks will have four speakers talk about various hot topics on campus and in today’s world. Kevin Pabst, the newly selected
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PLAN TO GO WHAT: Tide Talks WHEN: Friday, April 25, 6:30 p.m. WHERE: Russell Hall Auditorium president of Tide Talks, said he is excited about the program and what he thinks the series does for students on campus. “Tide Talks is a student-led speaker series that seeks to bring together the most
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INSIDE briefs 2 opinions 4 culture 6 sports 14 puzzles 13 classifieds 13
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inspiring students who represent unique parts of the University and give them a platform to share their revolutionary ideas on how to impact change on campus,” Pabst said. The speakers lined up for the event – Mark Ortiz, Alex Waits, Hannah Stephens and David Phelps – come from all areas of campus. Although the event starts at 6:30 p.m., Pabst said he encourages students to arrive closer to 6 p.m., as there will be a SEE SPEAKERS PAGE 9
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