Distribution Business Articles

Last week we reported that the music group Nine Inch Nails had severed its relationships with record companies and ventured out onto the internet in a solo bid to sell music directly to fans, even offering up 9 tracks from its 4 CD set completely free.  The full 36 tracks can be purchased and downloaded for $5 and there are many more configurations as well ranging from $10 to $300.

Well the marketing effort and distribution model have been a big success.  During the first week of sales they have sold 800,000 downloads and made $1.6 million in revenue.  Those sales do not need to be shared with a record company and that opens the door for a lot of profits.

Music Industry Dies a Little this Month with a Nine Inch Nail

They are next going to kick off a fan inspired music video / film festival allowing their fans access to the tracks to mix their own music and films for a YouTube contest and event.  It already has brought about a great deal of publicity and generated lots of interest.  The price is right Free teasers and $5 for the entire album and more for extras.  Plus they are even encouraging fans to share copies amongst themselves for free.  All the tracks are DRM free, meaning that sharing them is perfectly legal.

Critics point out that the band is already famous and has a strong fan base.  This might be more difficult to achieve with an unknown band such as Chanel J12, but does show that the distribution model is viable for existing bands.