This is a great and interesting article by David Browne at Rolling Stone talking about the change in the music industry where bands and artists are turning to independent means (such as their own pockets or Kickstarter) for producing their music and then selling directly to their fan base.
I found it especially interesting that the very thing which is empowering artists to sell directly to their fans, is also the very distraction which is making it harder for them to focus on their music:
The rise of Twitter and Facebook has helped bands connect with their followers like never before, but it also means another distraction from the creative process. “Fans expect things to come directly from the artist,” says Tennis manager Rob Stevenson. “You have to get yourself to the next gig and do a good gig and do your social media stuff. And there are still only 24 hours in a day.”
Via Elliot Jay Stocks, who is planning to release an album next year and will be experimenting with a business model in which fans of his music can subscribe and get digital songs released several times during a 12-month timeframe and which will culminate in a finished vinyl album.
Also, I love that Elliot connected the dots between the shift in the music industry and the shift in the publishing industry related to some of the concepts laid out in Craig Mod’s most excellent article, Subcompact Publishing.