Lawnun wrote: [ on 08:58 PM 8/14/2007 ]
The idea of record-label free distribution has been done at least since 1997
[1], to varying [2] degrees [3] of success. [4]
In the States, it was quite a big deal when the rock group "Clap Your Hands
Say Yeah" sold over 200k albums on iTunes, sans a recording deal:
Another data point, from Brit newcomers Enter Shikari:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003566805
U.K.'s Enter Shikari Scores Without Label
April 03, 2007, 4:10 PM ET
Mark Sutherland and Lars Brandle, London
Rock outfit Enter Shikari is claiming victory over the label system
after crashing the U.K. top five with its self-released debut album.
"Take to the Skies," which the band put out on its own Ambush Reality
imprint, entered the Official U.K. Charts Co.'s albums survey March
25 at No. 4 with sales of 28,000 units, marking the first significant
chart success for a new act operating outside the traditional label system.
"This vindicates our decision to do things ourselves," band manager
Ian Johnson of London-based Mythophonic Management says. He notes
that the band turned down several offers of "six-figure advances"
from major labels in favor of remaining independent.
"There's not a major label out there that could have sold us more
records in week one," Johnson says. "It's very easy for majors to
throw money at something and smother it, but we actually spent less
than we originally budgeted for."
Outside of rock press ads, Enter Shikari relied upon its fanatical
fan base to push the record into the charts. The St. Albans,
England-based band, which fuses metal with hardcore techno, attracted
considerable media attention last year when it sold out London's
legendary 1,600-capacity Astoria -- the only unsigned band to do so,
after the Darkness -- on the back of its MySpace popularity, where it
lists more than 100,000 friends.
<snip>
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((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
