A little birdie told me the deal with Best Buy is done.\u00c2\u00a0 All that’s left to do is sign the contract.<\/p>\n
Of all the marketing\/distribution ideas I received in response to my missive, I’ll only reveal one, that upon the album’s release, Axl Rose should commit suicide.<\/p>\n
This is brilliant insight.\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing’s a better story than the death of a cultural icon, especially one who flaunted convention.\u00c2\u00a0 TV and print execute vigils, MTV shunts aside all programming but "The Hills" to show classic videos, and print runs endless tributes.\u00c2\u00a0 We have public mourning that results in umpteen sales.\u00c2\u00a0 Assuming there’s enough product in the marketplace.\u00c2\u00a0 At least John Lennon was smart enough to get shot just when his new album was released.\u00c2\u00a0 Elvis croaked between album cycles, RCA had to run presses 24\/7 to crank out albums and fulfill demand.\u00c2\u00a0 A la Darby Crash, Axl could consort with his label, hinting\/informing Jimmy Iovine of his plans, thus making sure enough of "Chinese Democracy" was shipped.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, what would happen if AC\/DC died in a plane crash?\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody would be wanting to click and buy at iTunes…\u00c2\u00a0 Just another reason why online trumps brick and mortar.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s endless inventory!<\/p>\n
But that’s not the only online revolution.<\/p>\n
Catching up on last week’s newspapers I read another story about the blogger arrested for airing "Chinese Democracy" on his site.\u00c2\u00a0 I was stunned at the amount of blowback I’ve heard re this.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s kind of like "Bambi meets Godzilla".\u00c2\u00a0 But worse, ’cause in this case Bambi is friends with Godzilla, she’s a fan.<\/p>\n
Fans.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re the hardest thing to acquire.\u00c2\u00a0 You can buy publicity, you can pay off distributors.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s mutual self-interest.\u00c2\u00a0 You want to sell and they want to profit.\u00c2\u00a0 Newspapers don’t do stories on acts no one cares about, and television is only interested in stars.\u00c2\u00a0 But fans are not doing business.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s no financial payoff for being a fan.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s an end-user application.\u00c2\u00a0 You don’t build up your fandom and sell it.\u00c2\u00a0 You own it.\u00c2\u00a0 At least until it fades away when the act does something heinous, like stand up to Napster.<\/p>\n
That’s haunting Metallica nearly a decade out.\u00c2\u00a0 Metallica was right, but their fans thought they were wrong.\u00c2\u00a0 And you always want to come out on the side of your fans.\u00c2\u00a0 Metallica has learned its lesson.\u00c2\u00a0 But the record labels have not.<\/p>\n