Say Yes!
BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO CONTROL!
My inbox is filling up with Metallica stories. How they canceled an interview with a journalist who downloaded their album from the Pirate Bay, how they told fans at their O2 show to "Put the fucking cameras away, put the phones away.", how they didn’t want videos uploaded to YouTube.
End result? 92 videos uploaded already.
Look where the record labels got by saying no. The publishers too. Recorded music sales have tanked.
They said no to Napster. They say no to anybody with a reasonable concept for online distribution. And, even if they say yes, as they did to Apple, they want to say no thereafter!
It just reinforces to me that the people who make these decisions do not use the Web, have no idea of its culture. And end up being laughed at in the eyes of their customers.
Anybody can steal anything and post it online. Just about. Maybe you can crack down on one rogue poster, but you’re going to endure the backlash, as Axl Rose did with the "Chinese Democracy" leaker. Is GNR’s fanbase angry at the leaker, no, they’re pissed at Axl, and stealing the music in prodigious numbers.
If you want to employ strict security to inhibit leaks of your material, that’s your prerogative. But once you’ve shipped one CD to a retailer, it’s over. From then on, you’ve lost control. You’ve got to say yes to everybody who asks permission.
Can I make a mashup?
YES!
Can I post your song on my site?
YES!
Can I shoot a picture of you and send it to all my friends?
YES!
Can I shoot video with my cell phone and post it to YouTube?
YES!
You say yes because it doesn’t behoove you to say no. Because although you’ve got the right to say no, YOU DON’T HAVE THE POWER TO EFFECT YOUR DECISION! And you just end up pissing people off. Who are fans. Isn’t this how Metallica got in trouble in the first place? Shit, the band should be giving their entire album away a la Radiohead, in equally lame 128k editions, as a mea culpa, instead of continuing to fight battles the band can’t win.
The band should post authorized takes of the O2 show online. To combat the inferior takes from the audience.
The key is to get more people involved, not to alienate those already dedicated and paying.
Radiohead proved you can give away and sell too. At least now. Their only mistake was waiting so long to put the physical product out. Right now, "Death Magnetic" IS free. To try to combat that is utterly insane. The key is to come up with a better business proposition, sell extras with the music, and try to garner additional fans who’ll see you live and pay for your merch.
The problem isn’t the fans. Without the fans, you’ve got no career.
I find it funny that it’s only the stars holding back, trying to stem the tide. Whereas no newbie has this philosophy. The newbie knows how hard it is to be recognized, the newbie begs for fans. Knows how hard it is to get them and does everything to keep them.
In the future, as the old acts die off, the newbie philosophy will reign. The key isn’t to restrict fans, but to give them more tools. Wallpapers, widgets, you name it.
Instead of taking years to make an album, release a steady stream of tracks, to keep the public interested.
No rock band today has the image, the power of Sarah Palin. Sad, but true. But, unless she gets elected VP, Sarah Palin will fade away. That’s today’s paradigm. If you’re THAT big, you’ve got a short shelf life. How do you have a long shelf life? By solidifying a relationship with your core, treating them right, giving them a constant stream of product, toys and access so they’re happy and they evangelize.
What Metallica wants is every fan telling those who see the band as Napster bashers that Metallica has changed, that they need to be given another chance, that they’ve acknowledged their error. Trying to roll back technology and behavior to 1999 is not going to achieve this.
P.S. My sources tell me the band didn’t cancel the interview, but the label. Begging the question whose side the label is on. Can you count on the label to do what’s right for your career? Or are you a guinea pig to be sacrificed in their unwinnable war? Furthermore, the label’s bad deeds end up putting the stink on YOU!
P.P.S. Haven’t gotten the official word exactly what was in Hetfield’s mind when he spoke from the O2 stage last night. The NME includes this additional quote: ""Put your phones away, man. Putting a two-minute video of Metallica on YouTube isn’t going to make you famous. Just enjoy the show."Â
Was Hetfield just being the frontman, imploring his fans to revel in the music, or was he truly anti cellphone/YouTube. Who knows? Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, the fascinating thing is how the story spreads online anyway. So, before you speak, think of the CONSEQUENCES! Your audience is less controllable than ever. They think they’ve got power, don’t try to deny them.
