Dreaming of Success: A New Reality for Indie Bands
All over the United States, there are thousands of unsigned artists who are trying to make it big, but with the major labels towering over their heads, how is it possible for bands to thrive by themselves? It seems impossible, but in recent years indie bands have been doing just that. With the music industry declining from the shift to digital music, indie bands are able to gain recognition without the help from major labels thanks to numerous internet programs and other services.
Over the past several years, the music industry’s sales have been declining from the switch to digital music. In an article by Jeff Leeds, a writer for The New York Times, the author states that CD sales fell 3.4% and music DVDs were flat in 2006, according to a report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (1). Since the switch to digital music, more people are relying on the internet as their primary source of music and fewer physically go out to buy it. In response to this recession of CD sales, indie bands have been turning to the internet to promote and sell their music so they can stay afloat in today’s tough music industry. But getting on the internet is now the easiest step, points out Brian Cook, Panda Riot’s guitarist and band manager, in an article by Jacqui Cheng on arstechnica.com. Indie bands have to be good at social networking and promoting their music, which includes things like blogging and internet radio. Cook comments that “It’s all about finding avenues that are global” (Cheng 1).
The internet also means that smaller bands are able to keep more of their share of money when selling online as opposed to CD sales through major labels. An article on SiliconRepublic.com by John Kennedy discusses the success of Bandwagon, an Ireland-UK social networking site dedicated to promoting thousands of unsigned acts. This site, developed by Huw Thomas, allows members to show each other playlists of what they like which then allows new bands to gain attention. This site also splits downloaded songs 60:40 in the artists’ favor, and will even help breakthrough bands form a sturdy platform become popular (Kennedy 1). Sites like Bandwagon greatly help smaller bands gain popularity when users share their music with other members. A lot of these sites are also mainly for the artists and allow them to keep a greater share of the money made from downloaded music than they would get to through major labels.
Internet services such as Bandwagon make it possible for bands to distribute and promote music by themselves while making money from online sales, as opposed to giving a large share of their profits to major labels. According to the same report by the International Federation of Phonographic Industry, in 2006 the number of single songs downloaded rose 190% and the revenue from digital sales almost tripled from $400 million to $1.1 billion (Leeds 1).
When it comes to downloading music from the internet, iTunes is a major powerhouse and dominates other online sites that sell music. Paired with their online music sales and huge popularity through their iPods, iTunes has also become a great way for new bands to get recognized. This is just the case with the little known Brazilian band CSS. According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle written by Chris Cadelago, CSS was thrown into the mainstream music scene after their song “Music is My Hot, Hot Sex” was featured in the iPod Touch commercial. This previously unknown band sold 2,000 records in the next 2 weeks, and was also No. 15 in downloaded song in the iTunes store (Cadelago 1). Because iPods and iTunes are so popular, little bands like CSS can gain instant recognition and credibility from being featured in an iPod ad. This is just the break some small bands need to jump start their career.
Although iTunes has become a powerhouse for legally downloaded digital music, its popularity has not stopped the problem of pirated or illegally downloaded music being distributed, meaning artists can receive no share of the profits. In recent years, free distribution of music has been increasing with the help of online sharing sites and even friends copying music from others’ CDs or hard drives. An article in The Times by media editor Dan Sabbagh states that illegal copying is undertaken by 96% of 18-24 year olds according to research done by the University of Hertfordshire. The report also states that an average MP3 player contains around 800 illegally copied songs (Sabbagh 1).
To help cope with the problem of illegally downloaded music, Apple iTunes created a digital rights management (DRM) system to protect the music of the four big music companies (Universal, Song BMG, Warner and EMI) from which the company gets its music. These companies control of 70% of the world’s music. In an article on Apple.com, Steve Job explains that DRM systems must allow only authorized devices to play their music and the software must be frequently updated so there are no breaches in the system. This also means that people also have to stick to one company when purchasing music, but it doesn’t stop them from putting illegally acquired music onto their devices (Jobs 1).
The iTunes DRM software raises the question of whether major companies are dealing with digital music in the correct way or just trying to suppress new avenues to promote music. In fact, not everyone is on board with the DRM system. In the same article on arstechnica.com, writer Jacqui Cheng argues that “Not only do many indie artists hate DRM, but they view P2P as a force to be harnessed, not something to waste energy fighting.” Cheng gives the example of the small band Panda Riot, who decided to leave their music on BitTorrent and other P2P networks when they learned it was there. They discovered that having their music on these sites didn’t seem to hurt sales, but was just another way to expose people to their music. “DRM doesn’t help anyone,” Brian Cook, member of Panda Riot, responds. “In my opinion, DRM was the scapegoat for the music industry not adapting to all the avenues that the Internet opened” (Cheng 2).
Indeed, many companies have not explored the avenues that the internet could open for the music industry’s future. “Digital music can have an enormously positive effect
on the creation and distribution of music, and has already begun helping to build deeper emotional connections between bands and fans,” comments staff writer Blair Schooff in an article in New Media Age (19). Myspace seemed to have taken Schooff’s advice when it was devising its new MySpace Music deal. According to an article in Billboard Magazine, writer Antony Bruno reports that the new MySpace music has major groups sign unprecedented deals that will open up ad-supported streaming, DRM-free music sales, and reduced licensing costs. MySpace changed they way it did music by creating a system based on customer experience, and that will likely raise sales (Bruno 1). MySpace is a place for bands to promote their music and interact directly with the fans, and is a major portal for indie bands. Its new deal will likely continue to help these bands get noticed.
Of course, MySpace and iTunes are two examples of how indie bands can make it by themselves; however, the internet is not the only avenue bands can take to gain exposure. Video games such as Guitar Hero are also a way to allow obscure bands to achieve international fame. In an article in the Econonmist, technical analyst Aram Sinnreich discusses how bands whose songs are included in Guitar Hero III can expect online sales to increase by 300% after the release, according to Activision Blizzard. Sinnreich also give as example of how the band Dragon Force rose to fame after their song “Through the Fire and Flames” was featured as the game’s toughest song (Sinnreich 1). Games such as Guitar Hero and Rockband can catapault a band into instant fame just because of the influence the game has on its players. If a small band is lucky enough to be featured in one of the games, then it have its ticket to stardom.
Indie bands now have many ways to promote their music online and elsewhere without the help of any major label, but even though they have a venue for presenting their music, they may not be successful marketers. In recent years, bands have become more like small businesses, which not only include producing music but constantly promoting it so they can stay afloat. In the book The Indie Band Bible, author Mark Makoway discusses how “in a weird way, you are the salesmen and the merchandise” (47). Makoway also says that as a part of the band you are selling your ideas, skills, face, name, and attitude (Cho 1).
Although indie bands have gotten along without the majors, will they actually be able to make it big? According to Cheng, it often seems pretty unlikely. Even bands like Radiohead admit to needing a label’s help to reach the masses. On the other hand, big bands such as Nine Inch Nails have forgone their label, although they already had a large fanbase and were well-established when they did so(Cheng 2). Although Cheng thinks otherwise, perhaps it won’t be impossible for indie bands to make it big by themselves as the online music market continues to mature.
Even though the odds are against them, independent bands have clearly found multiple ways to shine in today’s tough music industry without help from major labels. From iTunes to Myspace, from creating an intimate fan base through blogs to embracing DRM-free music, from finding creative ways to promote their music to exploring new internet avenues to distribute music, indie bands have indeed found ways to thrive without the majors. And, if they’ve already come so far by themselves without the major labels, who’s to say they can’t go all the way?
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