Knowing and Making

I've been listening to NPR's Planet Money podcast, and one of the recent episodes  [mp3 link] is about how much it costs to make - and promote - a hit single. Or more accurately: to attempt to make a hit single. A friend in the music industry asked me to write down their figures with so he doesn't have to listen to the whole podcast. So here they are. The record in question is Rihanna's "Man Down", which her record company Def Jam was hoping would be one of the anthems of the summer. The costs break down like this: Initial demos made at a "writing camp": $18,000 (it costs around $200,000 to hire 10 studios for a couple of weeks and make 50-100 demos for Rihanna to choose between; this cost is apportioned over the 11 tracks on the album) Fee to lyricist: $15,000 Fee to producer/composer: $20,000 Fee to vocal coach/producer: $10-15,000 Cost of other studios and recording costs: $10,000 Total production cost: around $78,000 And then the marke...

I have been listening to a charming pop song by the delightful young artist " Jessie J ", prompted by the ravings of a tipsy man on the tube (long story, don't ask). Some of the lyrics go like this: Seems like everybody's got a price, I wonder how they sleep at night. When the sale comes first, And the truth comes second, Just stop for a minute and s mile It's not about the money, money, money We don't need your money, money, money We just wanna make the world dance, Forget about the price tag What a refreshing attitude, I thought! This insightful young woman has not only written a song about the important and neglected issue of pricing, for the first time since the rapper Meaningful Contribution To Human Progress changed his name to 50 Cent. But she has expressed a subtle understanding of the fact that not all economic incentives are material ones. In many situations, consumers really do just want truth, or a smile, and not a material object. This is...