OT: iMUSIC: A New Direction for the Music Business
Cutting-Edge Label Offers Better Economics, Greater Control to Artists
Releases From Blues Traveler, Johnny Marr and the Healers, John Doe, Berlin, Speech, and More on the Way
LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--August 5, 2002-- Here, for a change, is some good news about the music business.
The new label, iMUSIC, a subsidiary of ARTISTdirect, Inc., has arrived with a radically simple-and-fair new model for signing, promoting and compensating artists. That's why performers as diverse as Blues Traveler, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, Speech (of Arrested Development), John Doe (of the seminal L.A. band X), Sir Mix-a-Lot, Tre (of the Pharcyde), Folk Implosion, Gene, Tom Tom Club, and Berlin have signed on to release albums on iMUSIC.
The Company's maiden release, Britpop faves Gene's LIBERTINE will be released on August 6, and new-wave hitmakers Berlin's VOYEUR will hit store shelves on August 20. New discs from hip-hop luminaries Speech and Tre Hardson (of the Pharcyde) and punk-rock innovator Doe are due September 10, while street dates for a live Blues Traveler set and albums from Marr, Tom Tom Club, Sir Mix-a-Lot and Lou Barlow's Folk Implosion are expected shortly.
With net profits shared equitably between artist and label, and the artist retaining ownership of masters, it's no wonder musicians are embracing a concept Speech says is "like brotherhood."
Combine the progressive deal points with top-notch international distribution (via BMG in the U.S.) and cutting-edge, targeted and low-cost marketing, and you've got a structure custom-made for artists who aren't necessarily the flavor of the month but who retain a loyal fan base.
"The iMUSIC concept was developed through our early forays into releasing Internet-only CDs," says Company founder Marc Geiger. "We found that we were able to work efficiently and inexpensively, while allowing the artists greater control and better economics than they'd traditionally receive. With iMUSIC, we have the added value of brick-and-mortar distribution through BMG, but essentially we're following the same model that we used in our online-only releases, which proved to be tremendously successful."
Rather than attempt to "pirate-proof" discs and attack online file-sharing with litigation, Geiger says he prefers to offer some music from each release online as free, unrestricted MP3 files, counting on the "viral" distribution to spread interest, and to allow the music to speak for itself.
More importantly, iMUSIC eschews prohibitively expensive major label marketing tactics in favor of online initiatives that reach out to existing fans and accurately target potential ones. The savings enable both label and artist to achieve a profit selling far fewer copies than a traditional label must sell to break even. In addition, iMUSIC agreements with artists cover only one release, providing greater freedom for the artist than under typical multiple-artist deals.
"It was initially something that my manager suggested, and I checked into their philosophy on music and agreed that this is the label for me," declares Speech. "My company, Vagabond Productions, had already been distributing my music on the Internet, and I was already licensing my albums to different labels. iMUSIC was a great opportunity because they allow me to keep artistic control and, in essence, became an extension of Vagabond. It's like brotherhood."
"iMUSIC seemed like the only place for me to be right now," Johnny Marr commented. "I met with a lot of different people but the old way of doing things doesn't really appeal to me. I wanted to be with a label that thinks the same way that musicians think, almost like the original independent labels. I think iMUSIC understands that if the music is taken care of first, then the business side works out."
"iMUSIC is a great label for career artists like John Doe who have a legitimate fan base and want to be involved in deciding how, when, and where money is spent to promote and market their music," adds Jordan Kurland, Doe's manager. "Although it has distribution through BMG and access to the services and expertise of iMUSIC staff, iMUSIC has the feel of an independent label."
"I signed with iMUSIC because they're the best situation for me at the moment," notes Hardson, who, after noting prevailing trends in the biz, concluded "iMUSIC had a better idea of how to put out good music."
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Contact:
iMUSIC
Julie Farman, 323/634-4160
julie.farman@artistdirect.com
or
ARTISTdirect, Inc.
Heidi Ellen Robinson, 323/634-4112
heidi.robinson@artistdirect.com
