Milk Your Core

Bob Lefsetz has written a great piece in his blog about the current state of the music industry.

He suggests that bands give their albums away with the purchase of a concert ticket.

Granted, this isn't an entirely new idea. Both Prince and Sir Paul McCartney (universally recognized geniuses) have given albums away resulting in subsequent sold-out concerts. Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have toyed with this idea as well.

But in the following essay, Lefstez masterfully articulates why this is the way to go.

If you’re a touring act, you’ve got to stop thinking of your new music as a revenue source. Rather, it’s an investment in your career, its vitality, its longevity. The key is to get it in as many hands as possible so your sphere of influence, your customer base, doesn’t shrink, but GROWS!

You can read the entire article here.