January 5, 2012
In 2012, Go Digital or Go Home
It’s 2012 OFFICIALLY and I thought to myself: What better way to ring in the new year than New Year than with a blog about 2 new self-released albums? This idea is slowly turning into an idea to write about independent releases throughout the year. SO, if you or someone you know is releasing an album, feel free to shoot me an email about it. My goal is one a month.
To kick us off, I want to make mention of Amarna Reign. If you aren’t familiar with the guys, I’ll give you some backstory. If you are, this will be review… Amarna Reign is from Indianapolis Indiana and they’ve been a band for several years now. They play a heavier / darker style of sing+scream Metalcore. I wouldn’t classify them as “deathcore” but I also wouldn’t suggest them for people that don’t have a soft spot for brutality akin to Job For a Cowboy or White Chapel. Their new album called “Storms” will be released digitally all over the world on Friday, January 13th, 2012.
Yes, that is 8 days away from now!
This release is somewhat personal for me because I started working with the band in late 2009 and helped them release their EP, tour and develop. When I moved out of full-time artist management, I helped them find a new mgmt home (which they left shortly afterwards). This full-length album has been nearly 2 years in the making and it is their best thing yet. The guys have done a great job of laying a foundation and building a fan base steadily over the past 3 years. Check them out on Facebook and be sure to pick up your copy on iTunes or Amazon on January 13th!
The next album is by a good friend of mine, Blake Martin. Some of you may know Blake as the guitar player for A Plea for Purging… Plea is brutal, serious and overweight. If you like heavy, check them out. If you like cheesy, watch their music videos. Blake filled in for Haste the Day on the 2009 Scream the Prayer tour as well as Haste the Day’s 3 continent tour in the fall of 2009.
Blake has been working on an Acoustic EP for some time now and it’s finally going to see the light of day. “Fragile” hits iTunes and Amazon on January 10th. Blake is a phenomenal guitar player and a great singer so this album is sure to please. I also appreciate the way Blake has gone about marketing himself. You can check his acoustic stuff out here.
Today is so timely to talk about musicians releasing music on their own and relying heavily on digital. Nielsen and Billboard both reported today that for the first time in history, digital music sales topped physical. As we become more and more digital, physical becomes more and more niche. Amarna Reign and Blake Martin are both great examples of not waiting around for chance, but rather taking matters into their own hands and making it happen. Support the independent musicians of the world! Buy Amarna Reign’s albums and Blake Martin’s albums!
What are your thoughts on independent releases and digital music sales?
I’d say if bands can’t expect to sell more than 1000 units they should stay with releasing digitally. There’s not a lot of money to be made in that range so the best is probably to just get it out there for people to listen to as soon as possible. I’d almost just give it away for free if it hasn’t cost you a lot to record.. Hopefully the spin off is that your band gets bigger and your next release will be one you can monetize.
Interesting. If you were in a band and you could sell 1000 albums or so digitally, you’d opt to give it away than potentially make $5000-$7000 through sales? That money could help you in many ways.
I saw a tweet from @rrusa the other day saying “I basically just want my favorite bands to release a three song EP every two months..”
I think this is a very interesting idea. Fresh material basically constantly.
The trouble I have with strictly digital releases is I just love the physical copies so much. Maybe I’m just getting old.
I feel you, Justin. I got rid of my CDs because i didn’t see the point. Digital music in file format sounds as good if not better than CD now. If I’m going to have something take up space, I think I want it to sound better and be more nostalgic like Vinyl.
People still collect music, they just go about it differently now. I think CDs should be viewed strictly as a nostalgic piece.