Ropeadope,
a seven-year-strong record label that has released albums from DJ
Logic, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Medeski, Martin, & Wood, King
Britt, Jazzanova, the Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet (my guess is
that their sound is "neither here nor there"), and more, has announced
that it is going 100% pure digital. Every release will be available on
ropeadope.com in the MP3 format, as well as the major online music
retailers.
In addition to online-only distribution, the label also plans on a simple/modernized approach to business dealings with its artists, who will retain the rights to their masters, which rules. Royalties will be based on a straight profit share, and there's no advance to recoup. The program starts in February with digital releases from seven bands (Aunt Jessica, DJ Klock, Electric City, The Frequency, Skip Heller, Larval, and Reminder/Josh Abrams) with at least 18 more to come during the remainder of 2007.
I asked Ropeadope founder Andy Hurwitz why he's taking his label digital, and what he expects the pluses and minuses to be.
He responded,
"Why digital? It's funny, I almost feel like this is what they asked Rykodisc back in the '80's when they started going exclusively with CDs over vinyl. [Digital is] not just the future, it's the present, at least amongst our fans. We've seen our traditional sales plummet and our digital sales skyrocket. But on top of a purely economic decision, it's an amazing opportunity for us to find and expose tons of great music and fantastic artists.
"Advantages? We now make money on every single project from record one. We don't have to deal with returns and reserves, we can sign and release a new band in a matter of weeks, and it helps bring traffic to our website.
"Disadvantages? I'm really searching for some here. I guess the only disadvantage is the learning curve--folks are still trying to understand why we're doing this and how it works. But once we're up and running I think it will become obvious."
Et quel label !! Ropeadope est un label énergique et qui développe une ligne artistique affirmée tout en vendant des albums.
Bravo et tx pour l'info (as usual ;)
Rédigé par: SdC | 08/01/2007 à 12:29