COMES WITH MUSIC

Even though it has been launched in 2008 already, Nokia's Comes With Music is still relevant as new business model for the music industry. If you have lived in a cave for the past two years and you have just come out of it, the idea behind Nokia's Comes With Music is to give the subscribers free downloadable music for the whole period of the contract, which you can also keep after the end of the contract. This seems like a good idea, but few problems appeared shortly before the launch in the UK about one and a half year ago. Is the service really free? How are the labels gonna be paid? What are the artists getting? I will leave these questions open and direct you to the link below for a detailed recap on the issues that surfaced in 2008.

Source: THE GUARDIAN

DOWNTOWN MUSIC

Another exemple of multi-tasking for independent labels. Less marginal than Third Man Records, Downtown Music is also involved in different sectors of the music industry. The company operates a record label, a music publishing company, a licensing group, a digital label (c.f RCRD LBL) and a recording studio. Anyone see a patern here? I know I do!

Source: DOWNTOWN MUSIC

Third Man Records

Completely on the contrary to last post, this company uses a very old way to put out records. But maybe it is a good way for small independent labels to survive. Everybody knows Jack White from the White Stripes. And maybe you know his own record label Third Man Records. But did you know that this record company includes a record store, a recording studio, a rehearsal stage, a photo studio and a darkroom on the same location? Another interesting thing about Third Man Records is that the primary format they use to release music is vinyl. Yes, vinyl! They're still around and the collectors love them!
Now, to come back to what I said earlier, I see two things that can help independent labels survive. The first one being multi-tasking. Being present on different levels in the music industry is definitely a plus. Overall, you have more control on the product you are putting out. It is also easy to seperate the parts from one another. You might want to do only the recording for a band, or only the pictures for another... This way, you can compensate from the branch that makes more revenue than another and avoid bankruptcy. The second thing would be to focus on rarity. Releasing exclusive products to attract collectors. And with only two retailing stores in the world, Third Man Records has been around for nine years already!

Source: THIRD MAN RECORDS

RCRD LBL

Have you ever wished that you could download music for free, in good quality, without any risk? Well it is possible! RCRD LBL is an online-only record label that puts music from their artists for free. It actually is from 15 different record labels (partners on this one) that the artists come from. And the website doesn't only provide music but other content too such as interview, reviews etc... MOre and more artists are getting on this website, from famous to upcoming and from any genre so anyone can find happiness.

Source: RCRD LBL

22 TRACKS

The first post is about the new website 22 Tracks. The website was first launched on the 22nd of October 2009 and was co-created by radio DJ Vincent Reinders and Gilles de Smit. The idea of the website is to have 22 genres of music, with 22 tracks for each genre. This way they want to give an overview of the latest music and promote new artists. The websie is completely free, with the possibility to buy the tracks via iTunes. The website is very interesting as it permits the user to discover new artists or genres. It is possible to make your own play list. The interface is also very freindly. Each track list is updated regularly. It definitely is a must to check out!

Source: 22 Tracks