In case you don’t read Slashdot:
For what may be the first time ever, an artist has won a Grammy for an album that was never sold in stores. Jazz artist Maria Schneider just won a Grammy for “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album” for an album that was only ever sold online. The really cool part? Even before she started recording Schneider had fully funded the $87K price tag on the production, thanks to ArtistShare, an online music delivery site. And she is thrilled at not having to shell out wads of cash to distributors and the RIAA. From the CNet article:
“This record cost $87,000 to make. I already made my money back,” she said. “I’m not splitting the profits with the distributor, the record store and the record company. It’s working so well for me,”
Now that’s what I’m talking about. The internet is a medium that allows artists to distribute their music broadly without having to rely on the RIAA cartel. Schneider realized she didn’t have to go the old route of sending her album out through the usual channels, paying a million intermediaries along the way. You can buy the album for $16.95 US — Schneider is printing a limited run of 10000 prints. Of course, she didn’t have to charge $17 for it; she probably could have easily gone down to $12 or so. She would still be making more per disc than releasing it through the usual channels, but she’d gain an even greater following than she already has. But I guess $17 isn’t too too bad.
If the RIAA does eventually crumble, it will be partly thanks to sites like ArtistShare, and artists like Maria Schneider. However, the biggest thing in the way of that happening is the legal power the RIAA wields: the power to lobby in laws to their liking and to bully people. The american legal system needs to be changed to prevent that sort of thing, and of course the current administration is working to encourage it. Bah. The next four years are going to suck.
