Will Hodgkinson says Radiohead’s recent efforts make it harder for independent artists to do well. I hereby offer to make his day by proving him wrong.
In today’s Guardian Music Blog, Will Hodgkinson has opined that the recent efforts of Radiohead and Prince (to name a few) have altered consumer expectations to the point where they now expect music to be pretty much free.
And, he says, that’s an unsustainable model for a band like Thistletown, who have released what sounds to be a gorgeous record, but (Will fears) with little hope of returning satisfactory income to the band who have worked so hard to create it.
In a generous move, Hodgkinson has more or less donated the rights to the recording over to the band. Once the bills are paid, it’s all theirs. Nice man.
But he worries that the means by which they can earn from that recording have been irrevocably damaged by new, ‘free-ish’ strategies becoming a norm amongst artists with a high profile. I think he’s wrong about that. I think it’ll just take a bit of time and a spot of cleverness.
Inspired by Hodgkinson’s personal generosity and moved by his sincere concerns for the welfare of the artists, I hereby offer my services as an online music industry consultant.
The offer
The offer is this: I will work with the band, the record, Mr Hodgkinson and any management, publishing or label they currently have agreements with at no cost to them. I will help them develop a new music strategy that suits them, their music and their audience. The target is to generate a comfortable living wage for the artists concerned.
I won’t turn them into media puppets or give them things to do that are outside their comfort zone — artistically, ethically or financially. My aim is simply to prove that it is possible to make money from music at a time when the ground seems to be shifting so radically.
I don’t imagine this success will happen overnight. I am prepared to work with them on an occasional consultancy basis as long as they feel it is of benefit to them.
This is not a bet. There’s no ‘If I win’ or ‘If I lose’. I just want to help these guys get good music into the hands of a willing public, and demonstrate that it is possible to do that in the present environment and have a career as an independent musician.
If Will or a member of the band would like to get in touch with me to discuss this offer further, I’d be delighted to do what I can to help. And, of course, if we come up with any good practice, I’ll be sure to report it here.
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8 Comments
There’s nothing wrong with “free-ish” strategies. Getting their music into 200,000 devices (it will have to be free at first)so they can convert 5% into 10,000 fans that will pay them $30 over the next 18 months should be easy right? The music sounds pretty good. The name is cool. I can feel the brand… We closed SONGboost to further signups, but I will donate unlimited access to our tools. Just email me and I will get you an account.
Good Luck!
-Bruce
Hello,
I hope the band takes you up on this generous offer. If they do, perhaps they would agree to allow you to blog about all the things you try – successes, failures and everything in between. Often the failures are as enlightening as the successes. Also, seeing the whole picture, provides a much more realistic view of what was necessary to produce the final results.
As an example – Scott Adams, on his Dilbert Blog has a series of articles where he is advising a cartoonist on getting syndicated. If you are interested you can read the blog entries starting here: http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/08/basic-instruc-1.html
Even though I am not a cartoonist, and not interested in becoming one, being able to see this entire process has been most fascinating.
Thanks for all you work here; I look forward to reading more.
Best wishes,
Joseph
Hi Andrew,
I read with great interest your post and I agree with your theory. We’re trying to start a completely new record label, totally 2.0. We want to share everything and we’re sure it will be great, but we need everyone’s help, advices and experience so, when you have time, go to our blog and tell us if you can join us. We trust in your experience and we hope that we will be able to build something really special by collaborating together. Se you soon,
Z
I keep saying this… “Man, the industry… it’s a changin” I keep saying that because every day I read about more change. Record sales in the tank… BMI securing more royalties for its artist than ever (yes that sounds like it would be counterintuitive.. but it’s not). Major labels have merged in effort to provide CPR to a dying business model. Bands are dumping said labels to release their own art, free of red tape. Frigin Madonna dropped her label today and negotiated a deal with Live Nation… What the hell?
To me this cannot be more exemplified by the new release of Radiohead. Talk about innovation they just did it on all fronts. Grant it… some on line companies were already allowing people to “choose the price” they paid to download independent music. But Radiohead, as a major went and fired their label and made the release available before the big boys could open their eyes to the reality that faced them.
They didn’t stop there. The sounds on this record are as aggressive as their approach to its release. They come out of the gate with this haunting sound that is driven forward by a whacked out electronica back beat, placed in the oddest space and time. Jazz guitar riffs morph into distorted rock and the chaos explodes into a graceful order. If that’s not an analogy to the concepts they just brought to a changing industry then what is?
I paid my cash (pounds) for the download and was mighty happy to do it. Others will follow suit. Even those who opt to pay little or nothing will be doing their part in furthering Radiohead’s success. Those songs are going to be propagated everywhere and their royalties will be massive and just rewarded, if I might add.
In the first song Thom ask, “how come I end up where I started?” I have an idea.. It’s cuz every time you start you start from an innovative, successful place. Perhaps that journey is round trip
Hey Andrew
I always read your music site and find your comments/ideas insightful. I see Radiohead’s latest offering as a PR strategy more than anything which I’m sure you probably will agree.
I read this blog today with interest as I posted something very similiar. I’m not confident that I can recoup the cost of an album by giving away my music.
There is a percieved value when it comes to anything, and if it’s free…in my mind then it’s devalued.
I’d be happy to give away a single and some b-sides to promote the new album but the whole thing for free…I just don’t think I can do.
Would love your advice for my pending up coming CD launch. Seems it’s all about PR and making some noise.
Dave
Hello Andrew, hope CMJ is living up to expectation! Our new project, Danny & The Champions of The World, intends to fully embrace the new ways of doing business- it includes members of Grand Drive, Goldrush, and Electric Soft Parade who have all had, and hated, major label deals in the ‘old way’ of doing things. We totally endorse the fact that the internet allows a DIY operation like us to succeed with an innovative low budget approach. If Will Hodgkinson doesn’t take you up on your offer to help, we would love to do so, in fact even if he does! His series of articles is interesting, and shines a light on the battle independent musicians and music companies have to survive, though don’t share his pessimism. Having been in the ‘business’ 10 years, this year seems more alive with independent opportunity than any previous.
Great offer Dubber (I wish you would make the same one to me! LOL).
I think people are missing the point. Prince and RadioHead are not so much giving away their music for “free” as they are tapping into a new music distribution model. A model that will cause a huge problem for the old school music industry (also known as major record labels). From what I understand, Prince was paid half a million dollars by the Daily Mail for the “right” to give his cd away in their paper. He made half a mil without selling a single cd, and the paper sold more copies than ever. Prince fans got a cd for free. A win-win-win.
Radiohead has tapped into what I like to call “value based pricing” It’s not that everyone will get the album for free (though I’m sure many did). Consumers decided what they wanted to pay for the album. All reports are that many people decided that they did want to pay for the album. Not only that, some even paid more than a cd costs in a store. Radiohead also offered other alternatives, (box set, etc.) I am willing to bet Radiohead will not go hungry any time soon.
I have also seen the value based pricing on a website called amiestreet.com. On Amiestreet, independent (and well known) artists upload their music where it starts off with a price of $0.00. As more people download and recommend the song, it’s price goes up. .5 cents, .13 cents, until the song reaches a maximum of .99 cents. This way, consumers decide which songs or albums are more valuable, based on it’s true popularity.
I think I like this idea. It may be the future of music pricing. Let the consumers decide what they want to hear and how much they want to pay for it.
I like it so much, I put my music up there as well:
http://amiestreet.com/manoreza
Hello, I’m the guitarist in Thistletown. Just noticed your blog. Sounds good to me, as we are all very, very poor.