Please Self-Release Me, Let Me Go

There is indeed much to be said for charging a price - at some point in the exchange - for what you're offering.  I believe it was the Joker who said "Never do anything you do well for free."  He was right, and there's something fundamental about how people judge things upfront that is reflected in its cost.  A free sample is one thing but to habitually give away your work suggests, rightly or wrongly, a lack of confidence and exclusivity.  People expect to pay for something good, and they will.

Dean wrote: Was maudlin of the Well an unknown before then? Was Part The Second their first release? Didn Kayo Dot keep them "in the public eye" between their 3rd album and this one? Sorry, this was not a word-of-mouth success.

It's good to discuss things in theory but if we do have a real case let's not waste it even if it's not perfectly adequate to the theory. Of course it's not a perfect flip-chart example but flip charts do not always match reality either.
I've seen promotion for Part The Second over the internet and it was all word of mouth. I got the news from PA and tried the album because I usually try free downloads promoted on PA. Then I recommended the album to my friend Maria, who already knew the band due to word of mouth as can be seen here: http://caffeineandmusic.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/maudlin-of-the-well/ She blogged about Part The Second too. http://caffeineandmusic.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/part-the-second/
Of course Maudlin Of The Well and Kayo Dot are not completely unknown bands but as Kayo Dot drawn less than 100 people to their concert in London I can say they should be considered in our discussion even if not complying 100% to the pure self-release scenario.

Dean wrote:   I've owned computers since 1978 and disaster recovery is in my job-description. 2003 is recent history - your PC is probably running Windows XP - that's still current (just) - what about PCs running 311, OS2 or CP/M-86? Can you still access those? What happens to your data when Microsoft depricates FAT32 hard-drives or IDE? If your PC dies in the next five years you'll be hard pushed to find anything that will take a PATA drive - and I'm talking about recovering data in 30 to 40 years time. Technology is moving quicker than data.

I know nothing else than that if I have to upgrade something in order to keep my data then I will. Why keep me out of this equation?

Dean wrote: No great albums will ever be discovered by word-of-mouth promotion since will only carry the message so far, like ripples on a pond the message will dissipate and weaken the further it travels from the source. Social networking is transitory and fleeting, it simply does not have the persistence or long-term stability to grow anything more than a one-hit wonder with a half-life recorded in weeks not years.

Edited by Dean - February 11 2010 at 18:36

Epignosis wrote: You know what I want? A good old fashioned patron.  Oh wait...

The house of cards is already lying at our feet!

What has really changed is that music is now a commodity of the people - just as it always was before big corporations became the gatekeepers. For a short time, labels were able to create mega-superstars, by having control over radio, production, and distribution. None of us heard any music unless the big labels decided we heard it. Remember, it was only a short time ago that albums cost tens of thousands of dollars just to record. Now, you and I can make recordings at home for beans, distribute them worldwide instantly, and get interest from niche dj's without depending on payola.

JLocke wrote: Record labels are a dying breed, as far as I am concerned. If I would ever find myself in such a fortunate position as being asked to sign (which by the way, I won't), I wouldn't be completely opposed to joining an indie label one day if they would play fair, but it seems more and more even the tiny guys are getting forced into the pompous attitude by their higher-ups. Shame.

I do think it makes sense in some cases for a first release to be on an indie, just to learn the ropes and see who all the distributors, dj's and reviewers are - but being a member of a site like this, you're already tapping into a huge resource....

Record labels are a dying breed, as far as I am concerned. If I would ever find myself in such a fortunate position as being asked to sign (which by the way, I won't), I wouldn't be completely opposed to joining an indie label one day if they would play fair, but it seems more and more even the tiny guys are getting forced into the pompous attitude by their higher-ups. Shame.

Edited by JLocke - February 11 2010 at 14:11

Also, Warner has just released a statement that it will not ever support free streaming of any of its music. Had Shadow Circus signed to even a very small indie, ultimately all paths go through Warner at some point for distribution, and it wouldn't be possible for us to stream the CD for free on our website, which has been one of the best promotional tools we have ever had.

stefolof wrote: Nakatira wrote: I just had a quick listen to your stuff, wich was cool btw. Sounded very good to me. cool webpage as well, do you play live? Thanks a lot.   I checked out yours as well. Were the two songs on Reverbnation mastered by Andy? Sounds great anyhow! I have no footage of our newest constellation, however here's a video of the previous constellation playing jazz-rock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAW3rXLVvGM About 70% same members.

Cool stuff, Yeah mixed the two tunes on reverb nation.