11.16.2007
RCRD LBL: RETHINKING MUSIC
I CAN HAS FREE MUSIC? YES, SAYS RCRD LBL. AND WITHOUT ANY GUILT FEELINGS OR BROKEN LAWS OR F***ING DRM
Now this is interesting: RCRD LBL, "a brand new music site where all of the downloads are both free AND legal." Their welcome post goes on to say: "In a world where many people get their music for free, we wanted to create a site where bands we loved could put their music out there for free AND get paid for it. RCRD LBL is a new model and an experiment, putting great music out there for free and with absolutely no DRM. We hope you enjoy the music and support what we're doing by making RCRD LBL part of your daily music diet."
This is far from the first and only free-and-legal music site; check out the Fingertips blog, for example, which I've been downloading great music from for a couple of years now. And then there's SpiralFrog, which offers ad-supported free music downloads, but which has gotten bad press for its errors, intrusive ads, and idiotic use of DRM. (Besides, their service is available "only to residents of the United States of America and Canada," so screw that. I know, I know: I just made the music-download equivalent of that old restaurant joke. "The food here sucks!" "And such small portions!")
Anyway, RCRD LBL, which is pronounced "Record Label" (as if I need to tell readers from the most SMS-obsessed country in the world that), is, according to the Wall Street Journal, "a joint venture of Downtown Records, the independent label behind Gnarls Barkley and others, and Peter Rojas, a journalist and entrepreneur who founded the respected technology blogs Gizmodo and Engadget." They've got cred, then. And I have to admit, this is an excellent idea for a mash-up: "In some ways we're a music blog, written by people who want to bring you cool new music day in, day out. In other ways, we're a record label, championing, signing and partnering with bands we believe in."
Of course, that dual nature in itself raises some questions. The WSJ wonders "whether music fans will view as credible a blog that exists largely to promote its own commercial products." The article adds that "Messrs. Rojas and Deutsch say they will post music from other labels, too, as long as they can secure the rights and think their readers will be interested."
My first impression? This free download of a remix of Justice's "D.A.N.C.E.," featuring Mos Def and Spank Rock, justifies the entire venture all by itself. I loved it. I didn't think "D.A.N.C.E." could get any funner, but obviously, I was wrong. "'D.A.N.C.E.' is easily the most memorable club track of 2007, Spank Rock is the hottest, most-acclaimed hip hop collective in the game, and we're pretty sure Mos Def is this year's front runner for the Nobel Freshness Prize. We hope this track will make your day a little bit better." It did, it did. Kthx RCRD LBL.
Lots of good stuff there: tracks by Grizzly Bear, the Cold War Kids, the Soft Lightes, and other music-blogger favorites. Coolfer comments that consumers now "have a legal alternative to acquire free music -- if they happen to like the music offered by RCRD LBL (read: indie rock and electronic)." Note the clause there. "I believe this new model will be very successful in certain corners of the consumer world. [...] those who already frequent music blogs for music will give RCRD LBL good traffic. But how much room for growth is there? The key to stardom for this business model is getting middle of the road consumers to visit on a regular basis. I wonder just how much potential traffic exists for music -- even free music -- that lies outside of the mainstream." It's a good point, even if the idea of what constitutes "mainstream" music now continues to erode. Coolfer concludes, "Revenue from licensing opportunities will be very important."
I haven't explored it all that deeply yet, but so far I have nothing but good things to say about the site. It remains to be seen how long the party will last, however. Is this really a viable business model for music today? The WSJ raises the question of "whether up-and-coming bands will be willing to lock up their best songs in a contract that is virtually guaranteed never to generate hit sales."
Another question is: could something like this work here? I can imagine, say, Terno Recordings pulling something like this off: not beholden to any of the big labels, they've also managed to gather a sterling, critically-acclaimed roster of artists almost entirely free of suckitude. Sponsor-enabled free downloads would pay off, I imagine, in greater popularity which could easily translate to more revenue from gigs and merch. Plus, since Terno Recordings releases also generally sport great packaging, it's not hard to imagine people who have already downloaded tracks -- and grown to love them -- wanting the physical CDs as well. Look at the very nice artwork on the Drip and Up dharma Down and Radioactive Sago Project CDs: be a shame not to have that on your shelf, even if you only ever listen to the actual tracks on your mp3 player. (There might be a bit of a trend towards more elaborate packaging as added value among the indies, actually: check the physical format of Bagetsafonik's debut Travelogue, which is a freaking work of art.) The drawback is that I can't see an act that breaks through with this setup eventually, say, packing Araneta Coliseum -- but I could be wrong.
RCRD LBL may or may not be the future of music as we know it, but it's certainly a worthwhile venture, and one of the few exciting, hope-stirring developments in a year generally filled with doom-and-gloom pronouncements RE: the music industry. It's not quite the mindbender that the Radiohead pay-what-you-like for In Rainbows deal was, but as an enterprise that seeks to fulfill the needs of all the parties involved -- label, artists, listeners and sponsors -- it’s off to a very good start.
As for myself, I happen to be one of those consumers who really likes RCRD LBL’s mix of indie rock and electronic material. So I’m going to be dropping by quite often to grab the cost-free, guilt-free, and DRM-free goodness while I can.
How are you discovering/ obtaining/ enjoying music these days? We’re curious. Drop the author a line at luiskatigbak@pulse.ph.
TAGS: rcrd lbl
