Industry | 2010.01.03
Musicians counter falling CD sales with 'added value' packages to woo fans
Artists attempt to lure buyers with extras such as follicles of hair, car rides and free downloads
Earning a living in the music industry used to be relatively simple. You made music, sold records and, with a bit of luck, the money started rolling in. But with CD sales continuing to plunge and digital piracy rampant, artists are increasingly using unorthodox methods to sustain their careers.
Lady Gaga, queen of the provocateurs, might be topping the singles charts with Bad Romance but she was recently offering fans the chance to own some of her very own DNA, by giving away a lock of her hair if they bought her GaGa Super-Deluxe Fame Monster Bundle. Along with her follicles, fans also received a collectible puzzle, pullout posters, a paper doll collection and a personal note from the artist – a snip at $114.98 (about £70).
Falling CD sales – down 11% in 2007 and another 3.2% last year according to the BPI – means artists are having to work harder and smarter, said Stuart Dredge, editor of the Music Ally industry bulletin. "As the value of recorded music drops and people want albums for very little or for free, artists are having to make money in other ways. They are realising that if you give real fans extra stuff that they actually want, they will spend more money."
Some artists have taken the term "added value" to new levels. Drummer Josh Freese of Nine Inch Nails is offering his fans a range of treats in a "highly collectible", limited edition package of his CD Since 1972. A $50 bundle buys a CD/DVD, digital download, T-shirt, and personal thank you call from Freese himself.
One fan recently paid $20,000 for a miniature golf session with the drummer and his friends from the bands Tool and Devo. And for the $75,000 package, still available, Freese is offering to join a fan\'s band or be their personal assistant for a month, record a five-song EP based on their life story, and give them a flying trapeze lesson and a drum kit.
With services such as Twitter and MySpace giving music lovers an ever more intimate glimpse into their favourite stars\' lives, fans want more than membership to a fan club and some novelty badges, Dredge added.
"Artists are engaging more than ever with fans. This is an extreme extension of the meet and greet."
Some bands have taken the desire for intimacy to the extreme. In the limited edition "deluxe" box set of their CD \'Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da\', German industrial metal outfit Rammstein recently offered buyers six bright pink dildos, apparently shaped to "correspond with each band member\'s member size". Other artist offers are less eye-catching, but follow the same theory. West country 90s rockers Reef are offering VIP tour tickets which give fans access to the pre-gig sound check and the chance to meet the band. Rapper Mos Def gave fans the chance to buy his recent album, The Ecstatic, as a T-shirt with a code to download the album on the hang tag, while if Hot Chip fans order the band\'s new album, out in February, they are given an email with an unreleased track.
Popster Mika is also working hard to connect with fans and offer them more value-added products. Much like a supermarket loyalty card, fans who use the star\'s site are given points – or "Mika\'s magic numbers" – for each action they take, from writing on the message board to creating their own videos. If they legally download his album, or buy official merchandise, still more points are bestowed.
They can be cashed in for a range of rewards from free downloads or videos to, for 500,000 points, a private acoustic gig from Mika himself. The scheme encourages loyalty and primes fans for the release of new albums, according to Simon Scott, owner of Push Entertainment, who launched the campaign. "Fans are getting something back and financially people are buying more, but in a non-aggressive way," he said.
That more than 23,000 Mika fans have signed up and increased traffic to the site, also keeps advertisers happy, he added. Scott is clear about the reasons behind the shift towards added value. "Too many people are stealing music," he said. "There has been a realisation in the music industry that they have to take control of their own destiny."
Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills said the marketing ploys were a necessary evil that work if done well.
"You expect something like this from Lady Gaga, it\'s funny. But it is one thing selling a limited edition box set and another selling your life. Selling everything takes away the magic of pop and rock stars."
He added: "Big stars have to be careful, or they will just be accused of selling out."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jan/03/music-downloads-extras
