REM may be getting a bit long in the tooth as rock bands go, but the group is still breaking new ground in its approach to recording and releasing songs and videos. The band has decided to release a whopping 11 videos for a single track from its new album.
But what makes things even more interesting is REM’s decision to release the videos under an open-source artistic license, allowing and even encouraging the band’s fans to freely download and share the videos online. Even better, the band is suggesting that viewers remix their own version of the videos — also known as a “mash up” — and upload them to a special YouTube page for the whole world to see.
While REM has stopped short of releasing the new album for free — as Radiohead did with their latest offering — releasing a multitude of videos under the open source artistic license is an interesting twist, and one sure to provoke controversy in the litigation-happy music industry.
Oddly enough, the music industry has always sought to retain tight control over its artist’s music videos. But when you really think about it, this is a ridiculous position for the industry to take. After all, how can it possibly be good for business to restrict the usage and sharing of what is, in effect, a promotional video for their product?
In most industries, a promotional video to encourage the sale of products would be made available to all and sundry. And if your promo video wound up being an online favorite and was shared freely by millions online, all the better. At the end of the day, a music video is a promotional tool to sell albums — nothing more, nothing less. So why in the world would any sensible businessperson want to restrict the usage of this promotional tool? Like many music industry decisions, it defies common sense.
REM’s decision to “unlock” its music videos and allow them to be edited and remixed by fans is a brilliant concept, both artistically and economically.
But REM is not the only group to adopt an open-source attitude. The Shins have encouraged their fans to upload videos of the band’s recent Austin, Texas performance. The reason? The band has compiled the user-uploaded video clips into a full-fledged music video. REM and The Shins both have the right idea: encouraging fans to become part of the creative process is the wave of the future.
Related Business Directory Categories:
The R.E.M band is one of my favourite bands. How could we neglect the smoothness found in their music. The band has its own style and its audience. And I’m one of thousands of people who love this band’s style. And this is remarkable in their concerts where it becomes so hard to get a ticket and prices become so high. Lately, a friend has recommended me a site where to compare ticket prices for free and I find it a great idea because this way one could look for the cheapest prices offered by ticket brokers.
You may not like the band but for me it’s different.
Comment by Alicia — March 26, 2008 @ 3:16 am