Last week, the ska-punk band Less Than Jake performed an acoustic in-store show at the Apple Store in Santa Monica, California. Now an exclusive live EP recorded at the shop is available through the iTunes Music Store. Nice media convergence -- and a possible indicator that company-sponsored music events leading to online commercial releases are on the wax?
Related Stories: | Topics:Work/Life, arts + entertainment, Santa Monica, Less Than Jake, Apple Inc., California, Online Advertising Services |
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Recent Comments | 4 Total
August 21, 2003 at 11:01am by Joe Taylor
Smart artists realize that there's significant value in creating LOTS of opportunities for live recordings. There's a subset of every audience that uses these recordings to track subtle changes and progressions in an artist's work. Now that production costs are low, it's a great passive revenue stream for artists who aren't afraid of a few warts. (It's also turning into a nice business model for folks like Apple!)
Is there enough interest to warrant a full-scale commercial release? Maybe not. But a few hundred fans paying $5 each to hear a few live tracks is something nobody's gonna sneeze at.
August 27, 2003 at 8:05pm by Mark Heyert
Agreed the more opportunities the better, but what about giving those live tracks to the fans who are members of the band's fan club or registered on their website? Idea: keep the existing and attract new fans by giving them something (live tunes as unrestricted mp3s) for their loyalty, eh?
August 28, 2003 at 3:20pm by Joe Taylor
Mark: Absolutely. Factor in that TicketMaster is restricting pre-sale events to "registered fan club members" that must pay $30 or more per year to subscribe, and these tracks become a great added value for fans who otherwise wouldn't find much reason to pay for being in a fan club. Likewise, giving the tracks to fans in exchange for some personal info is a great way to find out how many fans you have in a zip code -- all the better to book shows with.
September 2, 2003 at 12:11pm by Jonathan Ramsey
I record all my live shows. I've put tracks - as MP3s - on my website for fans to download. I've also used these recordings to make 3-song demos for potential performances. The impact of my live show comes through better than sending a studio recording.
I actually do plan to release an EP or full-length CD in the future from these recordings. With practice, I've been able to get some very good results. The EP as a fan bonus is an excellent idea!