New Models For Music Sales Big name artists are proving that selling CDs ain't what it used to be. By Jim Brett | December 2007
With the tectonic shifts in the music industry over the past several years, one fact that industry folks can’t escape is that physical CD sales are down. Way down. The exact figures aren’t being widely broadcast, but sales are believed to be down by as much as 25% over the last couple of years.
And while some want to sing the death of the industry as we know it, there are some major label artists who are applying their creativity to the art of alternative marketing. Some of what these big acts are doing is beyond the scope of what indies – and even what their contemporaries – can do, but independent artists can certainly take a little something with them.
In Rainbows One band making waves for its new business model is Radiohead. Having completed their contractual obligation to EMI/Capitol, the band found themselves free agents in an increasingly unusual music landscape. Instead of jumping at the highest bidder for the release of their seventh album, In Rainbows, they chose to self-release the record.
Now with control over their release, Radiohead, like a number of artists before them, released the album online months before making the CD available at retailers. Then they took it one step further, and allowed fans to purchase the download for whatever price they deemed fair. You could pay $15 or you could pay nothing. They allowed their fan base to put a value on the product.
Not only did this model sell a ton of downloads,* but the buzz generated by the sheer uniqueness of the idea rivaled that of any talk show/signing/promo tour the band could have done. Of course, being one of the most popular and respected artists in modern rock was necessary to make this model possible (or at least profitable).
*Radiohead has not released official numbers as of this writing, but it’s widely speculated that between one and two million fans paid an average of $7.00 to purchase the album.
Out of Eden Another big band trying different tactics to market and sell their music is the Eagles. In late 2006, they entered into a marketing partnership with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. that would make their 2007 album, Long Road out of Eden, available exclusively at Wal-Mart stores across the United States. Wal-Mart basically became the Eagles’ private record retailer.
The Eagles knew that with the weight of the retailer’s marketing dollars behind them, they could move product. As of this writing, the album was still in the Billboard Top 5 after four weeks on the charts.
This “exclusivity model” was also displayed in 2007 when Prince, together with the UK newspaper, The Mail on Sunday, gave away his album, Planet Earth, completely free with copies of the newspaper. You bought the paper, you got the CD.
Without a doubt the move frustrated music distributors and retailers worldwide who would’ve seen a boost from a new album of Prince’s caliber and fan base. More important to Prince though, was getting the CD into as many hands as possible.
Admittedly, those are some pretty large-scale examples. Not all artists, independent or otherwise, have the ability to create such a far-reaching buzz that instantly moves boatloads of product. At the same time, all artists have the ability to think differently and maximize their sales with some creative marketing, especially in this day and age.
Mieka Pauley – Elijah Drop Your Gun There are the traditional ways indie artists get help along the way – a couch to sleep on, a warm meal, gas money. Then there’s the kind of help Boston (now New York)-based singer-songwriter Mieka Pauley gets.
On the homepage Pauley created for the release of her new album, Elijah Drop Your Gun, there’s a message just above the purchase information that reads, “The creation and release of this album is being funded ENTIRELY BY FANS.” Which translates to the fact that Pauley was able to fund the recording and replication of her CD through the goodwill and monetary generosity of her fans.
It started as a pre-order campaign.
“After I had eBayed my last extraneous guitar and we were still nowhere near finished the album, I realized I needed another way,” says Pauley. “I remembered friends of mine had run pre-order campaigns and successfully financed their releases, so I thought it was worth a shot.
“I initially told myself I'd be happy if I raised an extra thousand or two to ease the strain, but I'm ecstatic to say I raised $17,000. I sold almost 600 CDs before there was a physical CD to sell, and the average price folks paid per CD was almost $30.”
Pauley didn’t just give her fans a single CD, either. She created a pricing structure where the more one gave, the more one got in return.
$15 got you an autographed copy of the CD, where a $1,000 sponsorship netted a free house performance, an unopened copy of her out-of-print first CD, two “season tickets” good for free admission to any Mieka Pauley concert in 2007, 20 exclusive “b-side burns” of unreleased material, and 20 signed copies of the album.
Between the two price points were several other levels, depending on the fan’s means.
Clearly the campaign didn’t just begin with a CD from a completely unknown artist.. Pauley has spent years playing 150+ shows and developing networks of fans who wanted her to succeed and continue making music.
“The vast majority of people who pre-ordered any package, from a single CD to a house concert, were aware of my music because of my shows and my previous CDs, and not because of the pre-order campaign,” says Pauley. “I recognized a lot of names from previous correspondence and a lot of the other folks sent personal notes saying they had seen me in concert a couple years ago, or got my previous CDs from friends and had been listening ever since.”
Park The Van Records
Philadelphia (by way of New Orleans) label Park the Van Records has also benefited from a knack for networking, generating raves for its artists like The Teeth and Dr. Dog in Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly and garnering appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
One revenue-generating area PTV has excelled in has been in the social networking and blogging communities. The label has a button on their website labeled “PTV Tactics” through which supporters can grab ads to post on their blogs or websites in exchange for giveaways and a closer connection to the bands they enjoy.
“Those blogs and MySpace pages have proven to be a great way for people to find out about our bands, and we like to support people who extend their appreciation for what we're doing,” label manager Chris Watson explains. “MySpace is crazy and strange, but we pay attention to it. PTV listeners seem to spend a fair amount of time there.”
Like Mieka Pauley, Watson and his Park the Van bands realize the value that playing live has for independent artists trying to sell product.
“Of course, Park the Van is all about touring bands. We really can't do the work that a major label, or major indie can do without bands who are out there getting to know you. If we can make an introduction online, we try and use that moment to invite new fans out to live performances.”
The success of Park the Van and Mieka Pauley is evidence that social networking, along with some creative marketing, can lead to sales and a financial return. Independent artists can take charge of his or her own destiny. “I realize there is an order of magnitude between my business and an entire major label,” Mieka says, “but I see hope in how the indie artists are making it work.”
Watson agrees. “We aren't being handicapped as much by the same concerns that plague major labels these days. Indies can adapt easier, and that's definitely key to staying in business.”
