Why Free Music Was Inevitable

Posted on 04. Jun, 2009 by refe.

1

Digital files are infinite goods – the can be copied ad infinitum at no cost, and no significant investment of time. This is why the price of music has dropped, and this is why so much recorded music has been made available for free. The transition from physical to digital made free recorded music an inevitability.

Continue Reading

Study Confirms Longer Music Samples Sell More Tracks

Posted on 03. Jun, 2009 by refe.

3

A new study, which we’ll file under you’re-just-figuring-this-out-now? category, reveals that when consumers are offered longer, full quality music samples they are more likely to buy the full song. The research suggests that the standard 30 second iTunes-style preview is less effective than a sample that, for example, plays an entire verse-chorus cycle or even [...]

Continue Reading

Resurgence of Vinyl Could Be Just What the Industry Needs

Posted on 02. Jun, 2009 by refe.

16

A pair of Wired stories recently reported evidence of a significant uptick in the sale of vinyl records, showing that while CD sales have declined 11.7 percent this past year, vinyl sales have increased 36.6 percent. This recent resurgence of vinyl is beautifully ironic. This is the digital age! Music is cheap, convenient and portable. Innovations [...]

Continue Reading

It Didn’t Work for 8-Track – Why We Should Stop Clinging to CDs and Embrace the Digital Market

Posted on 27. May, 2009 by refe.

3

In a conversation this morning an artist said that she planned on fighting file-sharing by never allowing her next album to touch a computer. I asked her if she would also release her next music video exclusively on LaserDisc.

Continue Reading

Why the Music Industry Still Needs Taste Makers

Posted on 26. May, 2009 by refe.

16

New tracks are pouring onto the Internet like auto workers into a state unemployment office. Except there’s no line, and nobody working behind the counter. Armed with a free copy of Garageband and the vague hope that someone, somewhere might listen, scores of nameless musicians are doing their best to take advantage of the new digital frontier. It’s largely the same situation for listeners. A music fan who logs onto MySpace looking for fresh tracks could spend endless hours scrolling through band profiles, probably finding more misses than hits. It might take weeks before they uncover something that really gets inside them.

Continue Reading

ReverbNation Paying Artists to Give Away Free Songs

Posted on 22. May, 2009 by refe.

3

ReverbNation announced a new feature yesterday designed to generate revenue for the site and for some of its artists. The Sponsored Songs program will add a small, branded message to the digital cover art of each download. The message will then show up every time that song is played. In exchange for allowing the ad [...]

Continue Reading

Coldplay Offers Free Live Album to Fans

Posted on 21. May, 2009 by refe.

2

A band like Coldplay doesn’t need to give anything away. They’re already doing quite well for themselves - Viva la Vida went double platinum without breaking a sweat, and the band consistently sells out arenas across the known world like they’re U2. Yet, it was announced a while back that Coldplay would be releasing a live [...]

Continue Reading

Why Your Band Needs Booking and PR Before Management

Posted on 21. May, 2009 by refe.

1

I am all about the do it yourself approach. Artists who are also jack of all trades will be much more successful in the early stages of their careers than those who wait for others to come along and handle the ‘business side’ for them. With that said, there does come a point where all bands [...]

Continue Reading

The Unlikely Prince of Indie

Posted on 20. May, 2009 by refe.

1

Greg Kot, in his new book Ripped, focuses on the story of an unlikely but high profile independent artist – Prince. While the diminutive 80’s pop star and his music may not seem relevant to many of you, it turns out he is actually an interesting example of an artist bucking the traditional system [...]