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March 31, 2008

It's safe to say the marketing and distribution of music by conventional means -- as a physical product -- is on infinite hiatus. The problem isn't that people are "stealing" music. It is that the system for compensating recording artists has eroded at the ground level. Recorded music is perceived as "free" because it is no longer tied commercially to a physical product. Unlike a CD, it can't be touched, held, boxed, shipped, or shelved. That tends to declassify it as a "product" and tag it as a "freebie" -- like sunlight or air. Or FM radio.

That doesn't mean recorded music has no value. It just means the monetization must happen in a different way.

It is popularly believed that this must occur not through the distribution of recorded music, but via live performance and merchandising. Business-savvy artists are making that adjustment, using their music as a lure to other revenue streams -- mostly touring and merch sales.

Of course live shows are not the same as recordings. A live performance is to a recording as a stage play is to a movie. They each have their own vocabulary, their own character, their own value. The artist who uses recordings to drive a live business -- or a t-shirt business -- is, in effect, de-emphasizing their fundamental work in order to become a live artist with a shirt business on the side.

So what happens when the well of finely crafted and honed recordings runs dry? Even plastic can't be recycled indefinitely.

February 2, 2008

Wampus Multimedia is currently seeking submissions of music and ebooks for 2008. If you are interested in expanding your audience through the orchestrated marketing and distribution of your work, consider Wampus Multimedia as your media partner.

Music: singer-songwriter; postmodern rock; indie pop; modern folk.

eBooks: literary fiction; creative nonfiction; expert guides; travelogues.

Deadline for submissions: Friday, February 22.

Materials to: Wampus Multimedia, 4 Weems Lane, #300, Winchester, VA 22601.

--- Q&A ---

Q. What is Wampus? How can it help me with my work?

A. Wampus is a media company -- a music label, media shop, sound studio, ebook publisher, and marketing communications group. We have marketed and distributed more than 50 records and books, in the United States and around the world, since 2002. We serve as a creative partner in design, production, manufacturing, promotion, and distribution.

Q. Can't I do that stuff myself?

A. Maybe. But it's better if you have the resources of a company dedicated to doing it. Partnering with Wampus gives you expertise in image, branding, and strategy. Most importantly, you get people who will either care deeply about your work or recommend other options.

Q. How do I know if I'm a good fit for Wampus?

A. Visit the Web site, explore the things we're doing. Ask yourself: Is my work unique? Am I unwilling to change it for commercial reasons? Do I want to maintain creative control of it? If you're nodding "yes" to these questions, you're in the ballpark. We're not in love with mainstream appeal. We're looking for originality.

Q. Don't you need mainstream products to stay in business?

A. We focus on niche products, not blockbusters. A distinctive release, marketed well, has greater staying power than a typical mainstream one. We would rather market a release for decades than just during the first month. It's about building something over time -- an idea, an ethic, a community.

January 29, 2008

Qtrax is back. But to stay? Who knows?

The "free but legal" music service, which had a life as a garden-variety P2P site a few years back, was supposed to launch yesterday. At the last minute, however, Warner Music Group denied Qtrax permission to use its catalog, and other labels followed suit -- blocking Qtrax from going live. With Qtrax, consumers would be able to download music for free, and site advertisers would pay the freight.

Worth a second look.

On the upside, file-sharers could still get music free while diverting a few cents to their favorite artists. Nothing would change for them, and things would improve for the bands they enjoy. On the downside, Qtrax perpetuates the perception that recorded music somehow lacks intrinsic value, which -- while attractive in the short term -- threatens creators over the long haul.

The closest antecedents for Qtrax are network television and FM radio, which deliver free content underwritten by advertisers. Like NBC or Infinity Broadcasting, Qtrax would deliver a non-physical product at no cost to the end user. Qtrax hasn't yet detailed its compensation structure, and we don't know if Apple will embrace Qtrax files on the iPod, but if these hurdles can be cleared, P2P -- with no subscriptions, just free music -- could go legit.

And artists could actually start getting paid again, whether consumers pay them or not.

January 24, 2008

Alan Edwards was a songwriter, singer, and guitarist. He fronted a band called Silent4. Their cover of Lou Reed's "I Love You" anchored the Wampus release, After Hours: a Tribute to the Music of Lou Reed, in 2003.

We chose their track for the album because it was fragile, tentative, real.

Alan was a generous, talented person, and a legit authority on Lou Reed and Jonathan Richman. Occasionally he would email us an mp3 of something he was working on, along with a smattering of apologies and caveats, looking for feedback. And we were glad to get those emails. What Alan did was sincere. It was worth the time you spent with it.

You might have encountered his editorial touch at This Moment, or collaboratively at JOJOBLOG, a site devoted to Jonathan Richman... a performer who was inspired to make music... by Lou Reed.

Alan passed on yesterday. We'll miss him.

January 10, 2008

Okay, we're doing our little "autopsy" of 2007 events in independent music, thinking about what went right and wrong, and considering our own culpability. If "nothing gold can stay" (and Robert Frost seemed persuaded), we figure the events of 2007 aren't going to stick around for long, either.

The last couple of years, we've all taken the hits together -- the collapse of traditional promotional avenues, the erosion of CD sales, and the failure of digital downloads to meet the public's reasonable request for affordable, accessible music. We've seen a difficult business on the ropes. We've watched some talented independent artists go from exploiting the fall of the major labels -- from seizing the means of production and blazing paths directly to their audiences -- to staffing merch tables. And it happened in a blink.

Sure, maybe it's a good thing -- the shirts and the hats -- but we wonder. The apparel, especially the all-cotton stuff, has commercial value. But the music? It's fast becoming the aural equivalent of a business card.

"Dude, dig that track? Buy a shirt! It changed my life!"

Maybe so.

But we can make our own changes in 2008. Say hey, you beautiful dreamers.

 

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