From the opposite point of view, music blogs
and discovery websites provide easy hunting grounds for labels that are looking
for the next big artist. Being able to
not only hear the music but also see what kind of reaction the community gives,
and how many people follow the artist are essential tools for signing a new
talent. These artists now not only have
a record deal and a large fan base, but a fan base comprised of the most
dedicated and active music listeners who are most likely to provide the loyalty
required for financial success.
The newest development in the utilization of
these websites has been the releasing of singles and leaks from established
artists. By doing this, artists can promote
and build excitement for an upcoming album, expand their fan base and its
loyalty, or simply maintain their name in the industry and community. There is no such thing as a large enough fan
base, and the music community’s constantly evolving taste may produce new fans
who never before had interest in an artist’s music. Besides beginning the loyalty-building
process mentioned before, blogs and music websites are “potential publicity
bonanzas for artists who are mentioned and recommended” (Revised & Updated 2003).
Artists may leak a song from an upcoming album to the blogs to build
anticipation and excitement for their name, the upcoming album and the song
itself, and then release the song for purchase as a single a month later. Advanced audio software allows artists to do things like this as well. A
song that’s free to listen to and download undoubtedly will receive more
attention than a song that must be paid for and only offers a small snippet as
a preview. The talk surrounding the song and artist after a free release may
convince those not involved with blogs to purchase it. After the song has spent time circulating and
building anticipation, the release of the full album will be much more notable
and have a much larger number of potential consumers.
An example is the rapper T.I., who over the
course of two months leading up the release of his recent album “No Mercy,”
leaked a total of five tracks from it and built a massive amount of
anticipation. A similar example is the
artist Kanye West, who leaked numerous songs off his recent album “My Beautiful
Dark Twisted Fantasy.” The tracks that
were given to the public were mainly unfinished, yet still legitimate in
quality. When the album finally came
out, though the rough copies had spent a lot of time being discussed and shared
over the Internet, the finished versions kept the album fresh and were mixed in
with songs not yet heard. This method of providing free music to build
excitement has become an extraordinary tool for artists and labels to not only
increase popularity, but also increase sales and profits that had formerly been
lost to peer-to-peer networks.
The recovery from the financial damage brought
on by those networks seemed impossible for the music industry. Labels and artists alike were losing massive
amounts of profit as the music they spent so much effort and money producing
was being consumed for free. After the
government finally stepped in and stopped the peer-to-peer networks, the music
industry and its consumers experienced a period of awkward uncertainty as to
how to provide and consume music in the future.
Music blogs and discovery websites were able to act as a compromise
between the profit-seeking record labels and the penny-pinching consumers,
simultaneously providing the same community for listeners and a marketing
utopia for the big businesses. These
numerous websites’ ability to produce an ever-growing audience with an evolving
taste in music, provide an unprecedented global stage for aspiring artists, and
create the ultimate marketing and publicity situation for established artists
and their labels, has made them vital and a staple to the music industry.
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