MGMT Album Leaks... Band Wants To Give Official Version For Free, But Denied
from the so-much-for-that dept
It's pretty common these days for musical releases from big name bands to leak early, followed by the band pushing up the release date. In the latest such case (sent in by reader Matthew), the band MGMT had its latest album leaked early, and then responded by putting up a free streaming version of the entire album. They're not the first band to do this, but what's interesting is the note on the band's website, where they claim they wanted to actually make the whole thing downloadable, but were told that wasn't allowed:Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn't make sense to anyone but usWell, actually, it makes sense to lots of us, but we're not running Sony Music. It's great that the band was able to put out a streaming version, and doesn't seem to mind that the album itself leaked, but not putting up an official downloadable version means that people will still be getting the unofficial version, and MGMT and Sony miss out on an opportunity to actually connect with the fans (such as by asking for an email address or giving people additional reasons to buy as they download).
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Filed Under: free, leak, mgmt, music, streaming
Companies: sony music
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That'll sell those shiny plastic discs.
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oh, nothing.
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I love all your pieces, and generally agree with you, but not here. Sony most likely paid for the recording, production, and marketing for the album. Why on earth would they give it away for free? I'm all for bands giving away their music (I think the days of recorded music being the final product are numbered), especially independent artists as a way to boost ticket sales, merch, premium physical products, etc., but in this situation, it makes absolutely no sense.
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They can always put up a "pay what you think it's worth" button for people who want to contribute back and a pre-order link for people who want the album art.
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Re: Re: Pay whwat you want!
You're welcome.
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Because it already is free. So why not try to take advantage of that to actually make some money by embracing it and feeding it into a real business model?
I'm all for bands giving away their music (I think the days of recorded music being the final product are numbered), especially independent artists as a way to boost ticket sales, merch, premium physical products, etc., but in this situation, it makes absolutely no sense.
Why not?!? The music is already free. Not embracing it means people go elsewhere. Embracing it means a chance to earn money.
Why would Sony purposely drive fans to download elsewhere?
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But by this logic, why should bands bother trying to sell their music at all? I think you could make that argument for any album out there today.
If I were the band / label, I would put up a cheap digital download today (or pay-what-you-want). Give the fans a simple, easy, quick way to pay for the music (digitally, or up-sell for a premium package), and I think you'd be surprised at how many pitch in.
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"I think the days of recorded music being the final product are numbered."
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If MGMT were an independent or unsigned band, I would tell them to put it up for free download in a heartbeat. As other people have mentioned, it could be a good idea have the fans submit an email address for the album (or half the album), and build the email list. Then you can reach out to them later and upsell to a higher price point or tell them about tour dates.
HOWEVER, I don't think Sony would never and will never do that as long as they are a major record company. As far as I know, MGMT doesn't have a 360 deal with Sony, and thus, Sony is making no money off of the band's ticket sales and merch sales, only recorded music. Until that changes, they will want to sell as much music as possible.
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That's their decision. They're wrong, and will pay the consequences in the long term, but it's their right to do so.
"As far as I know, MGMT doesn't have a 360 deal with Sony, and thus, Sony is making no money off of the band's ticket sales and merch sales, only recorded music."
Again, that's their problem. If they signed a deal with the band that only gives them access to a small and shrinking section of the potential market, and they inevitably lose money because of it, they deserve to pay the consequences for following a business model that's going the way of the dinosaur. They've had over a decade since Napster to build a business model for the 21st century, and haven't bothered to do so.
"Until that changes, they will want to sell as much music as possible."
Indeed. But what they *want* to happen and what will actually happen may well be two completely different things.
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If Sony does not have a 360 deal with MGMT then they will only make money on album sales. If that's the case, then even if releasing the album for free did boost sales of other scarce goods that MGMT has to offer, Sony doesn't see any money from that. Sony has stuck themselves with one good to sell, which is albums. While betting everything on CD sales is not a smart business decision, it's what they're stuck with with MGMT, so they have to make the decision based on what makes sense with their current situation.
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Why would Sony purposely drive fans to download elsewhere?
Because then they can find those pirates and sue them into poverty. Its taken a while to get started and there were some bumps along the way but this suing fans thing is starting to pan out. Best to stick to the old model.
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Since it's Sony...
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It's just sillyness
It's like the stupid restrictions on skipping songs in Pandora when you can just hop to Youtube and listen to whatever you like as you like.
Sooner or later the fuddyduddies are going to all pass on and digital arts will be free (and used as advertising).
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Re: It's just sillyness
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Artists vs. Publishers
Right now the band is getting nothing from the downloaded music. What Mike is saying is that by offering an official free download they can get emails and contact information from their fans in order to get them to shows, purchase merch, or even offer limited content to those who downloaded through the site.
Wishing file sharing away isn't going to work, and publishers like Sony are preventing artists from adapting to a 21st century digital economy.
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Re: Artists vs. Publishers
I can see why the legacy industries are pushing so hard for ACTA and secrecy.
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whodunnit
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I didn't have to pay any money to hear the album. So all those lawsuits and the end result is the same as it was ten years ago?
Shocking.
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You assume that everyone who downloads the music is a pirate and will illegally download it. This is simply not the case. Also, do you honestly think a few email addresses are worth the bandwidth and support it costs to host an an entire album?
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Many years ago, before the music biz cause was finally, irretrievably lost, some punk on a forum was talking about seeing some band opening at a show and how he was downloading everything they had online. I told him what the singer from Sevendust said about downloading, "At the end of the year, if our album didn't scan [SoundScan] enough copies, I'm back flipping burgers at McDonald's." The little brat didn't reply, but I'm starting to think he aged to become Mike.
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Odd, multiple studies show the music industry has been growing both in terms of output and money. "Lost" seems to be defined differently in your book.
I told him what the singer from Sevendust said about downloading, "At the end of the year, if our album didn't scan [SoundScan] enough copies, I'm back flipping burgers at McDonald's." The little brat didn't reply, but I'm starting to think he aged to become Mike.
Ah, so you spoke to one idiot who didn't have a good business model, and because of that you want to condemn me for pointing people to business models that work?
You have a really screwed up way of thinking.
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YEA good idea dont sell the music go on tour you lazy gits and or play in bars
sell some tshirts and mugs or somehting useful
YA KNOW DO SOME REAL WORK
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yay
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Oh really? Hmmmm, so the band can't understand: the band gets their advance from Sony, Sony intends to make back the advance through music sales, and Sony has no confidence that giving away something will help sales? Regardless of whether the band agrees with Sony's (intermediate) conclusions, Sony logic can be understood even by a "moron-in-a-hurry."
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it's def worth paying for
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