Music fans can watch their favorite videos on demand, download albums one track at a time, and
enjoy music festivals from the comfort of home, without the long lines or stifling desert heat. So, seizing on young consumers’ demand for immediacy, an increasing number of artists are shaping a new music landscape by engaging with fans in real time.
Coca-Cola 24 Hour Live Session:
Maroon 5 teamed up with Coca-Cola to write and produce an original song in just 24 hours. Fans could watch the recording session streaming live and could interact with band members in the process. Using a customized studio in London outfitted with state of the art technology that allowed direct interaction through a Twitter feed projected on the wall, Maroon 5 took inspiration from the messages and photos contributed by fans and friends. A download of the finished track, “Is Anybody Out There,” is now available for free online. With the first 100,000 downloads, Coke will make a donation to
RAIN. Not bad for a day’s work.
Death Cab for Cutie Live Video: After
Arcade Fire's groundbreaking video last year, it seems that a run-of-the-mill music video is no longer enough to grab the attention of fans. So, in turning the video for their latest single,
“You Are A Tourist,” into an “event,”
Death Cab for Cutie attempted a feat that was never tried before: shooting a live, choreographed official music video. The group didn’t just film the piece in one take; the
Rube Goldberg-like video was streamed live on
Ustream as it was filmed on a Los Angeles soundstage. Directed by
Tim Nackashi, the meticulously devised spectacle featured, in addition to the band’s performance, dance routines and a light show.
8 in 8:
Four musicians set out to create an eight-song album in eight hours for
Rethink Music, a conferenced hosted by
Berklee College of Music and
MIDEM. Boston-born songwriter
Amanda Palmer recruited friends
Damian Kulash (
OK Go) and
Merton lookalike Ben Folds, as well as her husband, science fiction writer
Neil Gaiman, to carry out the experiment. Intended to demonstrate the future of the music industry, fans collaborated through Twitter and watched the writing, recording and release of the new tracks unfold in real time. The effort ultimately yielded six songs in 12 hours, all of which were uploaded to
Bandcamp where they can be purchased for a buck a pop.
