So, In Regard To This New EP......

[KarmaContestant]

Fleetwood Mac doesn't need a label or contract. No one does. They're just middlemen who take your money. What did Reprise do to promote In Your Dreams? Nothing, really. They made some promo CDs and posters, which probably did absolutely nothing to increase sales. All those TV appearances? That's not Reprise...that's a good publicist. The members of Fleetwood Mac have enough money to press their own CDs and self-release anything they want.

Case in point: Macklemore. A nobody; an unknown from the Seattle hip-hop scene who skipped the label, and self-released his album with DJ Ryan Lewis. Regardless of what you think of the music, he's been very successful. His album has been certified Gold in the U.S. and his concerts (where the real money is) are selling out. That is self promotion at it's best. 40 year old white guys like me are going to hip-hop shows.

In Your Dreams has sold 500K copies worldwide, but only about 120K in the U.S. I believe Stevie could have achieved that on her own, with no label. The fact is, no one gets rich from album sales anymore - that's not how the industry works. You make the big bucks from touring. The record label is only there to help you *feel* like you've made it, and to screw you, and many artists come out of the deal owing money instead of making money, with no way to release further music and a contract that prevents them from working at all until they settle with their label.

If Fleetwood Mac doesn't have a label contract, good for them. If they were smart, they'd keep it that way and release an album or EP themselves. No record label is going to increase Fleetwood Mac music sales in this day and age. A label will only hinder, take, and use.

If I were a label exec, I'd be very scared of what Macklemore has done. They should all be scared, because if a nobody-ginger-haired-white-rapper can self-release an album and become a superstar, then anyone can. There's nothing stopping an established artist with an established fan base from doing the same thing.