--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The record business is an oxymoron. In…" description: "\"The record business is an oxymoron. In the 1960s, there was an upside to selling plastic discs so labels took the risk - they paid for the record, for ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/tom-silverman-60827_1960s_the-record-business-is-an-oxymoron-in-th_1158017.png" --- # The record business is an oxymoron. In the 1960s, there… ![“The record business is an oxymoron. In the 1960s, there was an upside to selling plastic discs so labels took the risk - they paid for the record, for marketing, promotion, publicity, everything it took to make the artist a star. But now we have to go back to the venture capital model. The…” quote by Tom Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/tom-silverman-60827_1960s_the-record-business-is-an-oxymoron-in-th_1158017.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/tom-silverman-60827_1960s_the-record-business-is-an-oxymoron-in-th_1158017.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/tom-silverman-60827_1960s_the-record-business-is-an-oxymoron-in-th_1158017.png) > “The record business is an oxymoron. In the 1960s, there was an upside to selling plastic discs so labels took the risk - they paid for the record, for marketing, promotion, publicity, everything it took to make the artist a star. But now we have to go back to the venture capital model. The business is stopping and everyone's complaining but you can't blame labels. It's a shitty business. You do it because you're passionate, or because it's what you've always known. But if you lived through the nineties, nobody is thinking this is great compared to what it used to be.” [Tom Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-silverman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The record industry has shifted from a label‑driven model to a venture‑capital‑like risk model, making it harder and less profitable. **In simple terms:** Music business now works like venture capital, with high risk and low reward. Key Takeaway Adapt to new funding and distribution strategies. Themes industry change risk profitability music business Mood cautious optimistic Type analysis advice When to use this quote - label negotiations - crowdfunding - streaming platform deals - artist contracts Key Concepts venture capital digital distribution artist development Questions to Reflect On - How can artists sustain themselves financially? - What alternative models could support musicians? A Different Perspective May overlook the creative value amid financial focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1960s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blame/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Business Oxymoron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-oxymoron-3303182/) [Complaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complaining/) [Labels Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels-took-3303183/) [Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketing/) [Oxymoron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxymoron/) [Passionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passionate/) [Promotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promotion/) [Record Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-business-493016/) [Record Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-marketing-3303180/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Shitty Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shitty-business-3303181/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Venture capital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/venture-capital/) ## Related quotes > [I got all these books about, like, what you need to know to enter the entertainment industry. And I remember I sent my music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-stirling/i-got-all-these-books-about-like-what-you-need-to-know-to-enter-the/) [Lindsey Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-stirling/) > [Because of the way the record business has kind of stumbled and disintegrated, in a way, you're as likely to sell records at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-rundgren/because-of-the-way-the-record-business-has-kind-of-stumbled-and/) [Todd Rundgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-rundgren/) > [The record business is changing a lot, and I don't think to the detriment of music - I think, if anything, it's helping music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/the-record-business-is-changing-a-lot-and-i-don-t-think-to-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [At the time, there was a great disagreement over 'The Wild and the Innocent,' and I was asked to record the entire album over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/at-the-time-there-was-a-great-disagreement-over-the-wild-and-the/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [He asked my girlfriend if we could come over and sing some of the songs that we had written, which we did. After he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-harris/he-asked-my-girlfriend-if-we-could-come-over-and-sing-some-of-the/) [Phil Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-harris/) > [I guess my life has been a series of flukes in the record business. The first thing I ever did, was the biggest record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-chilton/i-guess-my-life-has-been-a-series-of-flukes-in-the-record-business/) [Alex Chilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-chilton/) > [People in the record business would say, Well, Pras, you know, you haven't been out in a while, maybe you should get today's hottest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pras-michel/people-in-the-record-business-would-say-well-pras-you-know-you-haven/) [Pras Michel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pras-michel/) > [The record business sucks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tionne-watkins/the-record-business-sucks/) [Tionne Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tionne-watkins/) > [The record business has always mystified me. Sometimes there are reasons why things sell or don't sell that can't be understood by mere mortals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-shaffer/the-record-business-has-always-mystified-me-sometimes-there-are/) [Paul Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-shaffer/) > [I know the history of the record business so well because I followed Billie Holiday into the record studios. It was so primitive compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bennett/i-know-the-history-of-the-record-business-so-well-because-i-followed/) [Tony Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bennett/) > [I don't mind competition at all. I mean, the record business is the most competitive business in the world, probably. So I'm used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-don-t-mind-competition-at-all-i-mean-the-record-business-is-the/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [The music industry is so fickle, there's so many politics. I think a lot of people don't pay attention to the credits or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/the-music-industry-is-so-fickle-there-s-so-many-politics-i-think-a/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) > [The music business has made a 360. It's a whole 'nother game. It's not nearly what it was. And I fear for it, because,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smokey-robinson/the-music-business-has-made-a-360-it-s-a-whole-nother-game-it-s-not/) [Smokey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smokey-robinson/) > [The difference between me and other people in my generation is instead of saying the Internet's killing the record business, I say, 'Who cares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/the-difference-between-me-and-other-people-in-my-generation-is/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [You know, the record business is much different than being artist on stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-alpert/you-know-the-record-business-is-much-different-than-being-artist-on/) [Herb Alpert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-alpert/) ## More by Tom Silverman > [Independent labels take nothing and make something out of it. Major labels buy that something, and try to make more out of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-silverman/independent-labels-take-nothing-and-make-something-out-of-it-major/) [Tom Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-silverman/) > [The music business is suffering because fewer artists are being invested in. Labels are putting in less money, taking fewer risks and signing half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-silverman/the-music-business-is-suffering-because-fewer-artists-are-being/) [Tom Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-silverman/) > [Whenever you're in a chaotic environment, there are some of the best opportunities. Nobody knows where the music business is going, but I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-silverman/whenever-you-re-in-a-chaotic-environment-there-are-some-of-the-best/) [Tom Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-silverman/) > [Whenever you have consolidation, you do that for more economies of scale and leverage in making deals. But when you start losing control, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-silverman/whenever-you-have-consolidation-you-do-that-for-more-economies-of/) [Tom Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-silverman/) [Explore all 5 Tom Silverman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-silverman/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) [Browse all 486 1960s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The record business is an oxymoron. In the 1960s, there was an upside to selling plastic discs so labels took the risk - they paid for the record, for marketing, promotion, publicity, everything it took to make the artist a star. But now we have to go back to the venture capital model. The business is stopping and everyone's complaining but you can't blame labels. It's a shitty business. You do it because you're passionate, or because it's what you've always known. 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