How best to market music is a subject that is widely debated at the moment. I'm reluctant to get too involved in the hoo-ha because I could easily find myself talking about little else.
However, yesterday I learned of a deal struck by techno/trance/hip-hop combo 'FAITHLESS' with the UK's largest supermarket chain and I felt compelled to make a comment.
The agreement will, for the first 3 months after release, restrict retail sales of physical copies of their new album to the shelves of TESCO.
The news coincided with Record Shop Day, an event contrived to highlight a campaign to boost the fortunes of the few remaining independent tune mongers who remain in business. The announcement also followed just a few days after publicity broke for the release of a collaboration between Talking Heads co-founder, David Byrne and DJ/producer and erstwhile Housemartin, Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook.
Hmmm. OK, let's recap. The former dance renegades Sister Bliss and Rollo choose to secure mainstream distribution, sitting next to the cornflakes, undoubtedly aware that such a deal would be -at best- 'news worthy' and help to ensure excellent publicity.
Meanwhile, the vinyl-sniffers collective spearhead a 'Save Our Indie Stores' crusade with a smorgasbord of PAs and limited edition releases to woo the download generation into the backstreet disc brokers And Messrs Byrne and Cook decide that their bizarre album about Imelda Marcos will be released in a range of formats, including a deluxe double-Compact Disc set with a DVD of music videos and (notably) a 100-page book...
So. Which marketing approach will be most successful? And should unit sales and gross revenues be the only criteria by which we we judge their success? More importantly, which tactic provides the best indication of future trends for the sale of recorded music and packaged media generally?
The sweaty-palmed ideologists will probably whine about Faithless 'selling out'; willfully flogging their art like cans of soup. The Record Store Day activists will claim that stores owned and managed by musos offer a service to true music lovers that is far superior to that of supermarkets. After all, you can't buy 12" singles from Wal-Mart, nor shoot the breeze about the latest releases with their staff. These are fair points but they aren't going to help EMI to get out of the shit.
I think it is David and Norman who should command the most respect as both artists and marketers. In a sector where once esteemed, premium products have become [largely] low cost commodities, adding value with tangible, tactile offerings seems the most intelligent approach.
In the short term, 'Here Lies Love' may well sell fewer copies than 'The Dance' but margins should be higher. Moreover, artists who are adept at creating a wider portfolio of work with a broader mix of revenue streams are, I think, more likely to retain their 'professional' status.
After all, the price of recorded music is likely to continue to deflate as both legitimate and unauthorised distribution increases. I hate to make comparisons with Maria Carey but it's no surprise that less than 30% of her earnings come directly from the sale of recorded music.
The rest comes from events and consumers products, bearing a brand that is underpinned by Carey's music.
Declaration: I buy music online, in supermarkets and from independent stores. I own legal copies of works by Faithless, David Byrne, Fatboy Slim and Maria. I also own a large collection of vinyl and still love my turntable.