When giving away music becomes the latest trend…

Posted by Flick in Puddlegum Archives on 10 17th, 2007 | 3 responses |

Explosions in the SkyGiving away your music seems to be the latest trend. Is this the new direction of the music industry? If it is, three years from now when it becomes evident we’ll chat about how Prince, Radiohead, and Nine Inch Nails used their influence to bring this change.

It’s astonishing, really, to think about giving away music, and it’s no wonder it makes most record labels shiver in fear. Considering that it costs roughly $10,000 to record for two weeks in a professional studio, live shows and merchandise sales will need to recoup the loss. Fortunately, live entertainment sales are on an increase.

Over the past twelve months more and more independent bands began to give away their music. Whether they’re handing out back catalog material, b-sides, or their latest disc, this trend takes full advantage of the album leak. In May, the music blogging community took notice and compiled a list of free albums… free for the consumer, not for the bands or record labels fronting the bill.

Offering music as a give-away isn’t new. Free digital downloads were only available to music bloggers and the press. Now digital downloads are seen as a promotional tool on the consumer level, mainly to draw you to their live performances.

Here are few bands and projects that are willing to take the risk of embracing a new industry model:

A Brief Smile – Now We All Have Horns
A Brief Smile – Big Sky

Glossary – The Better Angels Of Our Nature
Glossary – Only Time Will Tell

The Crimea – Secrets Of The Witching Hour
The Crimea – The 48A Waiting Steps

The Soft Drugs – In Moderation
The Soft Drugs – The Pitch

Cross Pollination: The Mixtape Vol. 1
My Brightest Diamond – Hi Remember Me

John Vanderslice and Scott Solter – Pixel Revolt Remixes in Analog
John Vanderslice and Scott Solter – Plymouth Rock

Explosions In The Sky – The Rescue EP
Explosions In The Sky – Day Two

Beatradio – The Great Big Sea
Beatradio – Elegy

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3 Comments »

  1. avatar Hughie Says:
    October 17th, 2007 at 10:46 pm

    Giving music away will work for exactly as long as not everyone’s doing it – which is to say that it’s already over. It only works now because it’s so unusual that people say “wow – these guys are giving their music away” and that’s a great promotion. But when everyone’s doing it, no-one will notice …

    BTW – Prince did NOT give his CD away, he sold it in bulk to a newspaper and earned more doing so than he would have from retailing it …

    Some artists have been giving their stuff away (see http://www.bradsucks.net) and/or asking for whatever people want to pay for a long time (see http://www.sheeba.ca/) with good results. From here on many artists will probably choose the “what it’s worth” model because it’s better than nothing, and everyone will have to work harder to find a reason to get people to talk about what they’re doing.

  2. avatar oliver Says:
    October 18th, 2007 at 5:12 pm

    been giving our music away for years
    (7 studio albums, 3 DYIs)
    the internet is like an evolutionary force;
    it views obstacles as damage and routes around them.

  3. avatar blessedit.com Says:
    October 28th, 2007 at 3:50 am

    When giving away music becomes the latest trend

    Giving away your music seems to be the latest trend. Is this the new direction of the music industry? If it is, three years from now when it becomes evident we’ll chat about how Prince, Radiohead, and Nine Inch Nails used their influence to bring thi…

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