There are many who would say that the current system of
music distribution is broken, and that as a result the music industry itself
will only continue to struggle until the death of the “record label” as we
currently know it. Certainly, there is a logical basis to this argument, but
I’m more inclined to label music distribution today as in a state of flux.
There are myriad possibilities as to what direction the music industry will
take from here, although speculating on such usually just creates more
arguments; instead of affecting change, many seem afraid to truly think outside
the box for fear of failure.
However, some artists/record labels are at the very least
attempting to experiment and see what it takes to convince consumers to buy
albums again. In part of Jono Gibson’s article about changes in the
music industry for the upcoming year, he points out that “integrated extras
with album purchases” is a trend that will more than likely only increase from
this point forward. Usually when one thinks of “extras” the existence of bonus
tracks come to mind. Often artists will release “deluxe” or “expanded” editions
of their records along with the standard version, featuring a few tracks that
failed to make the tracklist proper. Personally, I’ve felt somewhat cheated by
deluxe versions of records, as the idea of paying five extra dollars for
perhaps only two or three more tracks wasn’t very appealing to me. How much is
one bonus track actually worth? Regardless, the article in question talks about
extras on a larger scale that gives the listener a much more expansive listening
experience. Gibson mentions Beyoncé’s new self-titled album, which is fresh on
everyone’s minds, mostly because of how it was released. Out of the blue, her
record appeared on iTunes with virtually zero promotion or hype preceding it.
When I first heard about it, I thought it must have been a hoax at first, as a
pop star with her level of fame would presumably continue to take the “safe”
route in terms of record distribution as she already has a built-in fan base.
When I thought about it more, I realized that this built-in fan base is the
precisely the reason why she can do
this, as she’ll still sell records even if people react negatively because of her
level of recognition worldwide. When I saw that she had released a music video
for every single track on the album, I was even more stunned. Artists have done
similar things before; I think of Beck and his album The Information, where he released somewhat off-the-cuff videos for
every song, but Beyoncé’s album is different in that each video is of
high-quality and very professionally done. By doing this, Beyoncé created a
visual component to the listening experience of her record that made many
listeners curious and made the album feel like a genuine event.
There are others who are also distributing and releasing
their records in unique ways. Gibson mentions Lady Gaga, who released an app
with her album Artpop to create an interactive component to the listening
experience. An artist that I feel may have provided inspiration to Gaga is Björk,
who released a very forward-thinking app experience along with her album Biophilia. In
fact, she actually released ten small apps to go along with each song. Each app
contained animation and even minigames relating to the songs on the record. Artists
are also releasing their albums in different formats. Nine Inch Nails’ new
record, Hesitation Marks, was released in digital, CD, deluxe CD,
and vinyl versions, each with its own unique artwork. The choices don’t end
there. Depending on how much one cares for or knows how to operate music files
of different sound quality, the digital version comes in either MP3, FLAC,
Apple lossless, or high resolution sound files. In this case both casual music
listeners and audiophiles get what they want.
I have mixed reactions when I think about the longevity of
some of these integrated extras. I have no doubt that pop bands/artists will
look to Beyoncé and Lady Gaga for inspiration moving forward, but it’s hard to
see something with so much monetary cost attached to it working for the
industry as a whole. Most bands can barely afford to make one video, let alone for every
one of their songs. Beyoncé and artists of her stature can perhaps afford to
take risks because they know that they can sell records based on name
recognition alone. Also, the idea of making an app to go along with an album is
undoubtedly going to increase in popularity moving forward, but at this point
it still feels like a novelty. In my perfect world, albums would be able to
generate hype just for the music alone. This is obviously no longer feasible,
mostly due to piracy. The album promotion schedule and strategy has changed
dramatically because of piracy, as new records often “leak” on the Internet
weeks or even months before their scheduled release date. It’s tough to keep
excitement for release day going when thousands have already heard the album.
Novelty or not, artists/record labels are likely going to have to keep
subverting the usual method of record distribution if they wish to sell said
records. While the methods of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga are perhaps too costly for
most, artists are likely going to have to think about incorporating some
elements of both for their future albums. I’d also say that allowing for choice
in the release format, like Nine Inch Nails, could help artists reach different
kinds of music listeners. While I don’t believe integrated extras are
necessarily sustainable for everyone, I like that the trend going forward is
that artists are trying. Through this effort we may eventually hit upon a
release method that helps transform the industry back into being palatable to
the record-buying public again.
