Dawn Of Artist Control: New Raconteurs Album, Video Available Via Band's Web site

Posted about 1 year ago

Artist:

The Raconteurs
Album:

Consolers of the Lonely
Track:

Salute Your Solutions

Radiohead's name-you-own-price tactic was novel in the sense you got to download the band's album virtually for free and straight into your iTunes Library, without having to head to iTunes. But, today when I headed over to the Raconteurs Web site, not necessarily to purchase their new album Consolers Of The Lonely, but to see the band's new video for "Salute You Solution," the novelty of going directly to a band's Web site to purchase their music hit me again.

Now, many band's via their Web site lead you to iTunes to purchase their music, many times for an even less than the Raconteurs' $10.99 price tag for Consolers. But, much like the hype of Radiohead's In Rainbows release, the Raconteurs Web site made it feel like I was directly buying the album from the Raconteurs. It truly felt like the dawn of the death of the middleman.A new medium has officially been born...the idea that when, say Kanye West releases his follow-up to Graduation I'm going to be heading to www.kanyeuniversecity.com (the Louis Vuitton Don's official Web site) to get it.Forget getting CDs at Best Buy, and watch out iTunes. Today, I feel a new page turning, a new leaf falling, it's the dawn of the the rock band having control of their music via selling it directly from their Web site and its all thanks to the might mighty Internet. Agree? Head to Raconteurs.com to see if you get the same feeling. Would you rather buy from iTunes or a band's Web site directly?Here's that video for "Salute Your Solution" I was talking about via a purchase-friendly widget. The Autumn de Wilde-directed video features more than 2,500 photographs of the Raconteurs in a studio setting made into a mini-flip book action sequence.

Comments (3)

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w1llits says i agree, let's hope the internet can be used more for supporting the artists than enlargening the pockets of corporate pigs. if you can afford it, get that shit on vinyl, that's the way the raconteurs say it sounds best!

Permalink posted 03/26/2008
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bagelradio says I agree that these are signs signalling the dawn of a new age for artists, it's hardly the death of the middle man quite yet. How many bands can actually do the technical and business-side work required to legally, effectively, and safely sell their music through their own websites? I think that, for a while at least, the middle man remain a key player, albeit in a new form: the webmaster. Good luck, artists!

Permalink posted 03/26/2008
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Cody B says Vinyl is actually a good way to stop illegal dl'ing by the casual fan just by the sheer difficulty of the ripping and uploading. Only the hardcores do ripping/upping so the dl's are not so ubiquitous and easy to find. You can still find 'em though. I wonder what their cut is on different digital sales? Do they get more when they sell it from their site? I see on itunes it says they licensed the record to the WB. One thing is for sure no band can roll without some good lawyers, an IT guy, a web sherrif (see sturgell's Raconteurs post), and as bagel sez, a webmaster. So even though the old record industry is suffering, a new set of middlemen is growing up in its place, no? Maybe they can be called a support staff?

Permalink posted 03/27/2008