To Leak or Not to Leak? 3 Ways Artists Can Respond

Posted on 09. Sep, 2009 by refe in STRATEGY

The process of releasing new material has never been airtight. These days, however, digital technology has poked so many holes in the recording industry that it’s beginning to look more like a siv. From Radiohead to Jay-Z to Muse, more and more anticipated releases are showing up online days, even weeks before their official drop.

Leaks are the new market reality.

Whether you take that news with dread or excitement depends a lot on who you are. The major labels aren’t happy about this of course. Look how they’ve responded when tracks are shared AFTER their release! Platinum and Gold selling artists who still pull in quite a bit of revenue from record sales may have something to lose as well. The rushed release of Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 is evidence of that. At least, evidence of that mentality.

What about everybody else? How should smaller, independent artists respond to the new, leaky music business?

1. Embrace the Leak, Enjoy the Buzz

A leak can be feared, or it can be seen as an opportunity. Sure, unauthorized copies might eat into legitimate sales, but they can also be a great source of buzz. I’ll be honest with you – I love hip hop, but don’t pay much attention to mainstream rap. I was only vaguely aware that Jay-Z was releasing a new album before news it was leaked. Now I can’t escape it!

It’s much harder fro smaller bands to create a buzz around upcoming releases. And if generally fall into the less-than-50,000 copies sold category I imagine you’re interested in taking whatever buzz you can get.

For a band this size recorded music is usually not so effective as a source of revenue, but potentially very effective as promotional tool. So why not embrace the leak? It gets your music out there and and supplies your fans – and potential fans – with a reason to talk about it.

2. Update Your Release Strategy

Instead of simply reacting to a leak when it appears, proactively adjust your release strategy now. If Jay-Z can be forced to alter an important launch schedule, what makes you think you are in control of your next release?

Don’t pour years of time and energy into the creation and marketing of an album only to bet the bank on one single Tuesday. Make your new releases smaller and more frequent. Fewer tracks, more often. This affords you with much more freedom to distribute your tracks however you wish, and to respond more quickly to listener reactions. If one track suddenly spreads across the torrent sites like wildfire, for example, it might be a good time to release that other song you’ve been sitting on that pairs so well with it. If something falls flat you have the chance to re-evaluate your approach – in terms of both marketing and content – without risking a huge investment.

When approaching your releases this way a leak only means a lot less work for you. I’ve written more about this here.

3. Ignore the Possibility Completely

I’m not trying to be cheeky – many of you may never have to worry about anyone leaking your music. If you haven’t been able to generate a high enough level of anticipation, why would anyone go through the trouble of getting their hands on it early?

In a way, an unauthorized leak is quickly becoming something of a right of passage for new artists. Many smaller acts would consider it an honor to discover their unreleased tracks on BitTorrent!

So, if you never plan on building a network of excited, hungry fans who can’t wait another minute to here even the smallest scrap of tape from your latest recording, you can disregard this post entirely.

Ok, maybe that last one was a little cheeky.

What do you think about leaks – friend or foe? Have any of you ever had a track leak before its scheduled release? What did you do about it? Leave your comments below.

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Tags: Jay-Z, leaks, music, new releases, recording industry, release strategies

3 Responses to “To Leak or Not to Leak? 3 Ways Artists Can Respond”

Matt

09. Sep, 2009

First of all, I think MySpace and similar sites are the best thing to ever happen to the starving independent artist. Leak away, they say!

For record labels and signed artists, it’s a different story. I might be a little biased, being that I’m co-owner of Haulix, a digital promo delivery service, but gone SHOULD BE the days when labels have a factory spit out 1000 cardboard sleeved copies of an album pre-release era. Pre-release promos are a major leak hole in the industry. There are services that employ watermarking and advanced tracking to close that hole. That’s a good place to start for labels. Be more aware of who and where you are sending promotional material to.

As for after the album is released to the masses, that’s much tougher. If the music can come out of your speakers, then there is a way to duplicate it. Global watermarking “could” help in tracking malicious leakers, but the label now has to pay for resources to go out and confront based on tracked watermarks.

There is no bulletproof solution to the leaking problem. I look forward to the day when some computer science genius, sitting in his basement, comes up with a new technology or digital music format that stops leaking.
Rich Huxley

11. Sep, 2009

Spot on again Refe.

I think there’s a couple of scenarios in question here; the independent artists whose work is released by them directly and there’s probably never a case where new works are leaked as all work is done in house.

As for artists on labels where they’re trying to retain control over new releases, the way forward has to be to embrace the technology. Leaking is only a problem if you decide to perceive it that way.

What’s more, surely there are people working in music who leak music to Create the buzz. Was it leaked, or was it just released and made to look like a leak.

Discuss.
- refe
  
  11. Sep, 2009
  
  Rich – great points and well said. Radiohead is a common example of the deliberate leak scenario. Certainly made sure their recent single got plenty of press.