Band releases digital album 3 months in advance of CD

February 3, 2004

At first, this doesn't seem so revolutionary.
But, if you read the whole strategy it has merit. Digital first, is safe,
think about it. The Texas band, Secret Machines digital album will come
bundled with a free six song digital sampler at participating digital retailers.
If a fan purchases the digital album from the band's website, they will not only receive the free digital sampler, but a
free CD-R on which to burn the music to disc. The CD-R is a limited edition, and
will feature exclusive Secret Machines artwork. Ok, good idea, although we
have seen this sort of thing before. But here is the part I never thought
about.

Reprise
Records is gearing up for the launch of a unique internet marketing
campaign for New York City's highly acclaimed Texas transplants Secret
Machines. The campaign will launch on Tuesday, February 3rd, when the
digital-only release of their debut album, "Now Here Is Nowhere," goes up
for sale at all participating digital retailers three months in advance of
the physical album release.

This marks the first
time a band has issued a full album in a digital format more than three
months in advance of the traditional CD version. Reprise Records New
Media's strategy is to make the full album available for purchase in the
digital world while executing an extensive online marketing campaign.

"Traditionally, when we begin a new media
campaign months before an album release, there is nothing for the fans to
purchase. By making the Secret Machines album available digitally now,
once someone discovers the band on the web, they can buy the music rather
than looking for it on file trading networks or not at all. We believe the
word of mouth will spread from those who purchase the digital album in
advance and this will build a bigger awareness to help increase sales of
the physical album," says Robin Bechtel, Vice President of Warner
Bros./Reprise Records New Media.

Pretty clever, the only thing out there will be a
DRM version to stream and or buy. Plus the Net will help market your product.
Wonder if we will see a trend in this direction with the rest of the labels, it
makes sense.

The digital sampler, entitled Sympathy For The
Download 01, features brand new tracks from new artists: The Von Bondies, The
Walkmen, The Sun, Head Automatica and Johnathan Rice, with a bonus track from
Secret Machines. The sampler is a first of a series.

To find out more about Secret Machines and to
stream their entire debut album, "Now Here Is Nowhere," log onto Secret
Machines.com. The site is unique, check out the
video.

Source: Businesswire