Whether or not you're a fan of Ace Enders (ex The Early November), this is something you should be interested in if you consider yourself a music fan. Under the I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business heading, Ace is releasing a new record, Gold Rush, under the new Do-It-Yourself group Sound of Evolution. The record is out May 5th. You can preview "Gold Rush," the title track and download another new song, "Lame Duck," for free.
I think we can all agree that the music industry needs some form of revision before it is able to monetarily support the artists we love. What's interesting about this project is that it is cutting out the middle man: the traditional record label. The labels make their money primarily from the fans, then only giving a percentage of that money to the artists. With today's social media advantages, the usefulness of joining a record label has seriously come into question.
This new business model should not be seen as taking advantage of the fans, as some idiots would suggest. Rather, it puts them in the driver's seat and on a path towards a much more intimate listening experience connected with the artist. Furthermore, allowing fans to fund musical projects, as Ace and the Sound of Evolution aims to do, is a brilliant strategy for music collectors. For example, the basic fans will be happy with paying $10 for the mp3's. More dedicated fans might offer up another $5 for a signed CD booklet. True music snobs will fork out the cash for higher quality sound files. And the most obsessed fans will pay almost anything for extras such as signed posters, thank you's in liner notes, and even, in ICMAM's case, the chance to host a live concert in their own living room.
Ace Enders, as well as a few other people, are setting a precedent for other artists to follow and, so far, it seems like something we should get on board with.
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