Well guys its began, Nine inch nails, Oasis ectra are all jumping on the gravy train.
Some of the music industry’s biggest names are considering offering their music free online following the success of the experiment by the band Radiohead to let fans download their new album without charge.
Radiohead
Radiohead fans are willing to pay for their music
The band’s website topped the chart of music websites with an 11-fold increase in internet hits after the announcement, according to internet monitoring agency HitWise.
Now Jamiroquai and Oasis, two major names that are not contracted to a record labels, are rumoured to be considering following Radiohead by offering work for free, according to industry sources.
Radiohead refuse to reveal how many fans have pre-ordered their seventh album, In Rainbows, but figures from HitWise show the move pushed the site up from number 43 to the top slot for music websites in the UK.
Google say that searches for Radiohead have increased tenfold this week as fans log on to the band’s site, with the majority – according to the band’s spokesman – spurning the opportunity to download the album for as little as 45 pence and instead signing up for the £40 box set, which includes vinyl records, CD and artwork
advertisement
Tourism Australia
The Charlatans are also offering fans their next album completely for free if they visit the site of radio station XFM.
The performers that give away their music for free are expected to make their money from sales of concert tickets and merchandise.
“They’ll all be thinking about it now,” said Stuart Clarke at Music Week. “Any big name that is out of contract such as Jamiroquai and Oasis will now see it as an option.”
Oasis has already announced that its next single, Lord Don’t Slow Me Down, will be available only to download for 99 pence. Meanwhile rumours abound that Madness, a band with a loyal fanbase amongst 40-somethings, is considering giving away its next album for free.
David Enthoven, founder of ie:music, Robbie Williams’s management company, said: “I think a lot could follow. You’ve got to be sure about your fan base but why would you sign your career away to a record label when CD sales are falling so rapidly?”
While CD sales are falling dramatically, download sales have grown from zero in 2003, to 26.5 million in 2005 which then doubled last year to 53.0 million. However, according to the British Phonographic Industry, for every track that is paid for, twenty are downloaded illegally for free.
Yesterday, Alan McGee, the manager of the Charlatans, said he was astonished by how popular the experiment was proving, even though fans were not yet able to download the album.
“The record industry is obsessed by age and fashion. And so you get these amazing British bands like the Charlatans and the Happy Mondays that were massive 10 years ago and are still great, but are out of contract. How do you get them profile? You give away the record.”
He said that the initial feedback had been so positive that the he was already considering booking larger venues for the band to play in when they tour next year. “This experiment is going to work, I feel,” he said, adding he was confident that merchandise and concert tickets will make up for giving away the free album for free.
I said it before and I'll say it again. Small bands who at the moment survive by making a small loss will be screwed by this. Pressing a CD will become more expensive as volumes drop. People will be less inclined to pay for the end product if they can download Oasis for a couple of pounds. Result? Simon Cowell dominates the whole music industry as he is the only one able to afford to produce / promote new output.
Wii Internet Friendly Websites
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say,
"I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out"?
I said it before and I'll say it again. Small bands who at the moment survive by making a small loss will be screwed by this. Pressing a CD will become more expensive as volumes drop. People will be less inclined to pay for the end product if they can download Oasis for a couple of pounds. Result? Simon Cowell dominates the whole music industry as he is the only one able to afford to produce / promote new output.
Hooray!
Agreed! Radiohead are loaded already so it doesnt effect them as they have enouogh pound coins to get by! Saviours of music my ar*e!
Well, the industry itself has tried committing suicide by wasting money promoting one hit wonders and boy bands, now the successful bands are going to try and kill it by taking the companies revenues away too. Make no mistake, this isn't about setting music free, it's about cutting out the middle man and making life easier for themselves. (Not that I'm for the record companies interests, they've put themselves in this position.)
Let's say Radiohead are used to getting 30% of revenues that the record company prices the CDs to the retailers, so that would probably be in the region of £2.50 per copy. Assuming they have received wider publicity and will sell more (due to it being a bargain), they probably only need £2.00 per copy to make the same as last time. (Difficult to know since we don't know how many more they will sell and how much their real costs are for downloading.)
Their production costs should be lower so they'll be making on that too - since they are no longer under contract to produce a record "suitable for sale" - meaning they won't have to spend as much on production and they won't have tracks rejected by the record company. They can basically put out whatever they like.
By removing the bands considered "cash cows" from the industry, there's less to spend on new acts. I'm not sure if that will focus the industry on picking up good bands and leaving the dregs, or if they'll pick up more "safe" acts and we'll end up with bland radio. But for the acts that don't make it there's little chance they'll get rich the web - it's not a way forward for a new band.
If Radiohead are going for more freedom of expression though, loosening the grip on what the record co's will release by killing the "suitable for sale" clause, then it could be a good thing. IMHO.
You take some money out of one area of the record industry it won't crumble. It will adapt, like when ICT took over the world everything just adapted.
The producers have less money, the suppliers of audio equipment lower their cost, bands get offered smaller contracts. Everything keeps going just without millions of £ just sitting there looking pretty in big producers and bands bank accounts.
And even if this is the end of big record labels its the rise of digital distribution, these big companies like EMI would just need to adapt to the new climate instead of insisting it shouldn't be changed.
And it mostly means when bands get offered a contract its going to be a much lengthier one than the 6 albums ones Oasis and Radiohead picked up.
Linear Mode
