Thirty Seconds To Mars are an acclaimed Californian rock band who, despite topping album charts around the world, have made virtually nothing from the sales of their music. It’s a familiar tale; the way major record labels exploit musical acts, who eventually find themselves in court trying to recoup their earnings. But, Thirty Seconds To Mars’ situation became a much bigger news story when, in 2008, the band was sued by their then label Virgin/EMI for $30Million.
Artifact, directed by Thirty Seconds To Mars lead singer Jared Leto (under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins) was originally intended to a chronicle the making of the band’s third album, eventually entitled This Is War. But, as the legal battle dragged on for nearly a year, the focus of the documentary broadened to encompass the effect of the dispute on the band and the challenges facing music creators in the current music industry, through a mix of in studio footage, fly on the wall shots from the band’s business meetings and interviews with industry heavyweights who have worked with the band and the labels involved.
Winner of the People’s Choice Award (Documentary) at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Audience Award at the 2012 Gotham Independent Film Awards, Artifact is a solid, frank documentary that lifts the lid on music industry and, in a very personal way, takes us behind the scenes of the recording process.