Madness Factor

I’m only vaguely familiar with the music of Harvey Danger—I’d recognize Flagpole Sitta if I heard it—but a career move the band has made recently has gotten my attention. Harvey Danger is offering their latest album, Little by Little… as a free download on their web site. The whole album, free of charge.

Here’s an excerpt from a press page on their web site:

Why are we doing this? The short answer is simply that we want a lot of people to hear the record.

However, it’s important that people understand the free download concept isn’t a frivolous act. It’s a key part of our promotional campaign, along with radio and press promotion, live shows, and videos. It’s a bet that the resources of the Internet can make possible a new way for musicians to find their audience – and forge a meaningful artistic career built on support from cooperative, not adversarial, relationships.

The big question for musicians these days is how best to capitalize on the internet. Give away music for free online, and rely on live shows and merchandise sales for income? Offer downloadable teasers of songs, and sell CDs with the full versions? Harvey Danger’s move encompasses both options: a CD version of the album for sale, and the downloadable version for free. When given the choice, will quality matter to consumers? Will the band win a significant number of new fans?

I’ll be watching to see how this experiment plays out….

NaNoWriMo update: I am very, very behind.