Bobbyisms: Set fans to max power
I write about random things a
lot. I write a lot about random
things.
To say that the music industry has reacted in some interesting ways since the MP3 file came into our lives in the 1990s would be an understatement — though a long time coming, the music industry reluctantly began looking at new business models for artists and the music they produce.
And though there has been change in recent years, there are many moves that the industry itself is still too hesitant to make. It's at points like these that artists step forward themselves and take risks ... often re-writing the rules in the process.
You've seen it before - Radiohead released In Rainbows on the Internet and allowed their fans to contribute whatever they wanted for it. Kanye West produced a new track every week with his friends for free download to bide the time until his album was released. Artists have strived to find new and innovative ways to use the Internet to promote their music since it became so prevalent in our lives all those years ago.
But wait! That makes a circle - people started to get music for free online, the labels ignored it until way too late and weren't conducive to change, the artists opted to find ways to share their music online, which people could download for free.
But downloading begets downloading, and regardless of where the collection originates, it's a digital collection; with more and more people drifting away from the physical music formats, the labels take fewer and fewer chances on new acts, forcing them to take new initiatives unto themselves.
Which is how the concept of fan-funded came to birth in recent years.
Vancouver's Billy Pettinger, a.k.a. Billy The Kid, has made an indelible mark on the Canadian music scene since she first started exploring songwriting well over a decade ago. She has found success as both the frontwoman of Billy And The Lost Boys and as a solo artist with The Lost Cause, her debut EP produced by Raine Maida.
For her latest album, fittingly entitled Ours, she turned to fans with a wildly creative plan - Pettinger proposed producing a record to be released for free online, the funds for which would be generated by fan donations and pre-orders.
The album, which will be released by Billy The Kid and the South Side Boys, will have a traditional physical release in September of this year, though each song will be released online for free as they're finished. Currently, the songs have been completed and recorded, and the album is in the process of mixing and mastering as the funds become available.
"It's called Ours because this album was entirely fan and friend funded," she writes on her website. "Even the studios, musicians, engineers and artists at times donated their services to make this thing happen. I wanted the people who made this album possible to hold it in their hands and know that they were such a huge a part of it and I couldn't have done it without them."
Pre-order options for the record are plentiful, and range from $15 to have a physical copy of the record mailed to you upon completion to $60 for a signed CD prize pack including a hand-written thank you note, a personalized t-shirt and a credit in the album liner notes. But it doesn't end there.
Feeling generous? For $50, Pettinger will hand-draw fan investors doing anything they please. A donation of $200 earns an evening with Pettinger, and a $1,000 donation buys a personalized song for you or a loved one, written and recorded in the style of your choice.
Pettinger also offers a number of creative options, like the publishing rights to any one song in her catalogue for $10,000, including credit as Executive Producer on the song you choose. Pre-orders will continue until the album's release in the fall.
Still a relatively new concept, fan-funded music has roots only around 10 years old and is owed to websites like artistshare.com and sellaband.com. Though she opted to manage the project herself instead of enlisting the aid of such sites, Pettinger seems to have few regrets about her decision to empower her fans to create her music.
Admittedly, fan funding is an extreme example of the major shift of power in the music industry, but the message is clear: now more than ever, fans have the power to effect a change in the current of mainstream music. There are so many ways that a fan can support his or her favourite artists in the modern world of music, and it deserves doing.
In this issue of Interrobang, we have extensive listings of music and fun festivals, both here in London and around Ontario. My suggestion is to check it out — summer music festivals are a great and inexpensive way to fall in love with new artists, ones that deserve your attention, love and support. Wear plenty of sunscreen, though, and something with a lot of pockets.
For more information on Billy Pettinger, visit her website at billythekidonline.com or follow her on Twitter @BillyPettinger. As always, for more music news, reviews and streams, follow this column on Twitter @FSU_Bobbyisms. Here's hoping you're having a great summer, I'm out of words.
To say that the music industry has reacted in some interesting ways since the MP3 file came into our lives in the 1990s would be an understatement — though a long time coming, the music industry reluctantly began looking at new business models for artists and the music they produce.
And though there has been change in recent years, there are many moves that the industry itself is still too hesitant to make. It's at points like these that artists step forward themselves and take risks ... often re-writing the rules in the process.
You've seen it before - Radiohead released In Rainbows on the Internet and allowed their fans to contribute whatever they wanted for it. Kanye West produced a new track every week with his friends for free download to bide the time until his album was released. Artists have strived to find new and innovative ways to use the Internet to promote their music since it became so prevalent in our lives all those years ago.
But wait! That makes a circle - people started to get music for free online, the labels ignored it until way too late and weren't conducive to change, the artists opted to find ways to share their music online, which people could download for free.
But downloading begets downloading, and regardless of where the collection originates, it's a digital collection; with more and more people drifting away from the physical music formats, the labels take fewer and fewer chances on new acts, forcing them to take new initiatives unto themselves.
Which is how the concept of fan-funded came to birth in recent years.
Vancouver's Billy Pettinger, a.k.a. Billy The Kid, has made an indelible mark on the Canadian music scene since she first started exploring songwriting well over a decade ago. She has found success as both the frontwoman of Billy And The Lost Boys and as a solo artist with The Lost Cause, her debut EP produced by Raine Maida.
For her latest album, fittingly entitled Ours, she turned to fans with a wildly creative plan - Pettinger proposed producing a record to be released for free online, the funds for which would be generated by fan donations and pre-orders.
The album, which will be released by Billy The Kid and the South Side Boys, will have a traditional physical release in September of this year, though each song will be released online for free as they're finished. Currently, the songs have been completed and recorded, and the album is in the process of mixing and mastering as the funds become available.
"It's called Ours because this album was entirely fan and friend funded," she writes on her website. "Even the studios, musicians, engineers and artists at times donated their services to make this thing happen. I wanted the people who made this album possible to hold it in their hands and know that they were such a huge a part of it and I couldn't have done it without them."
Pre-order options for the record are plentiful, and range from $15 to have a physical copy of the record mailed to you upon completion to $60 for a signed CD prize pack including a hand-written thank you note, a personalized t-shirt and a credit in the album liner notes. But it doesn't end there.
Feeling generous? For $50, Pettinger will hand-draw fan investors doing anything they please. A donation of $200 earns an evening with Pettinger, and a $1,000 donation buys a personalized song for you or a loved one, written and recorded in the style of your choice.
Pettinger also offers a number of creative options, like the publishing rights to any one song in her catalogue for $10,000, including credit as Executive Producer on the song you choose. Pre-orders will continue until the album's release in the fall.
Still a relatively new concept, fan-funded music has roots only around 10 years old and is owed to websites like artistshare.com and sellaband.com. Though she opted to manage the project herself instead of enlisting the aid of such sites, Pettinger seems to have few regrets about her decision to empower her fans to create her music.
Admittedly, fan funding is an extreme example of the major shift of power in the music industry, but the message is clear: now more than ever, fans have the power to effect a change in the current of mainstream music. There are so many ways that a fan can support his or her favourite artists in the modern world of music, and it deserves doing.
In this issue of Interrobang, we have extensive listings of music and fun festivals, both here in London and around Ontario. My suggestion is to check it out — summer music festivals are a great and inexpensive way to fall in love with new artists, ones that deserve your attention, love and support. Wear plenty of sunscreen, though, and something with a lot of pockets.
For more information on Billy Pettinger, visit her website at billythekidonline.com or follow her on Twitter @BillyPettinger. As always, for more music news, reviews and streams, follow this column on Twitter @FSU_Bobbyisms. Here's hoping you're having a great summer, I'm out of words.
