It’s no secret that piracy has taken a toll on the music industry. Those who have especially suffered in the industry are the artists. Even the top artists only get a small portion of album sales, and with the decline in sales because of piracy they have had to turn to other ways of making their bread and butter. A lot of artists probably still get good money from Royalties, but others have tried more of a unique approach in recent years.
For example certain artists, like Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, have tried to make their money by circumventing the record labels completely. They simply put their album on their website and ask the fans to pay as much as they want. However, it has been reported that a lot of these artists’ have regretted their decision, mainly because of the shocking revelation that people do not like parting with their money when they can get something for free.
This is not to say that this format is not effective if done right. I would not recommend simply asking the fans to pay anything, but simply asking them to pay a small minimum might prove to be very effective. This is what stand-up comedian Louis CK did in the winter of 2011. Louis simply asked his fans to donate a minimum of five dollars to download his new stand up special. It was not long before the video made a million dollars in downloads (with a cost of $250,000).
Other artists have recently taken another approach. For example Shawn Carter, popularly known by his stage name Jay-Z, sold his new album Magna Carta… Holy Grail in bulk to the electronics/entertainment company Samsung. The album was available for free for the users of Samsung product. You have to hand it to Jay-Z, this was a smart move, and we may be witnessing a start of a new trend. Thats not to say that this decision was not without controversy. Billboard Hot 100, refused to recognise the sales to Samsung on their sales chart. However, the RIAA (record the Record Industry Association of America) have recognised the sales and have certified the album Platinum.
Sources:
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/music/Justin+Timberlake+defy+conventional+wisdom+with/8721639/story.html
http://www.hngn.com/articles/6779/20130702/jay-zs-magna-carta-holy-grail-inspires-riaa-switch-up-gold-platinum-certification-requirements-video.htm
