Smart thinking from Belladonna on the piracy of their third album
Belladaonna‘s Dani Macchi, via Facebook, on scoring 20,000 downloads of their new album,” And There Was Light…”
Wow, almost 20.000 downloads in a week! Yes it’s an illegal download website, so we won’t see a penny out of all these downloads… but it’s hard for us to give a damn about that, we are too busy celebrating the fact that so many people chose to add our beloved latest album in their collection!
Pop quiz, is Macchi right?
I think the honest answer is yes. If someone had approached the band and said they could get their music into the ears of 20,000 people who think they like the music (and not just a random mailshot), would they have been sensible to say yes? And if it was free?
Thinking about this as a promotional exercise for the band in my mind is the right thing to do in the 21st Centure. Paraphrasing Cory Doctorow once more, “the biggest problem in the 21st century is not piracy but obscurity.” If even 5% of those downloaders love the band and the music that they turn round and buy a CD from the band, that’s a thousand sales, at a gross of 13 Euros. You do the maths, that’s a nice return. No multiply that over all the “illegal download sites” on the net, and perhaps you can begin to see how totally independent bands like Belladonna can not only survive, but thrive online.
PS: Belladonna are of course regulars on The Rock Show, and if you’re new to them, start with their second album, “The Noir Album”. That’s probably a touch more accssible than the concept-like “And There Was Light…”
I think Dani Macchi is right, and if I had a band that had that many free downloads I wouldn’t be concerned about not getting paid but that my music was getting to people and the fan base was growing. I personally am a Belladonna fan and they are just some really cool people doing what they love. Every instance I have to play their music for people, I do, and they usually like or love what they hear. For me this says a lot about them, and because of it I would buy every album they have put out because they deserve fan support like that as well.
He’s absolutely correct in that statement! Simply because I really feel music is going in that direction where artist will see their profits come from the internet more so than other means.
In the end the web is a great tool to reach A LOT of people for free, so for some to get free music is only a small price to pay compared to what those people can do for the artist by sharing their music and making them more popular which in turn will pay dividends.
This is happening, and it has been happening for years…might as well embrace it.
Belladonna is a very hard working band, and the 20,000 downloads is a case of L.U.C.K. (Labour Under Correct Knowledge)! a grass-roots type band if you will, and it’s great to see their music is reaching more and more people.
Rock’n’Roll!!!