The Chicken Coop

On iTunes, you can already pre-buy a TV series. This is a really cool feature, which I’ve used in the past for CSI/CSI:NY/CSI:M. It allows me to pay $40 or so now, per show, and download the episodes as they are released on iTunes through out the season. I even got about 50% back due to the writers strike.

Now, Weird Al is doing something very similar with his music:

Remember when I said I was going to start releasing tracks to iTunes as soon as I finished recording them? Well, I’m in the studio this very moment – and the first track released from my next album will be available on iTunes a week from today (October 7)!

This is extremely exciting for me. One of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with in my career is keeping my material topical even though I only release albums every 3 or 4 years. Now, with the advent and popularity of digital distribution, I don’t have to wait around while my songs get old and dated – I can get them out on the Internet almost immediately. It kind of boggles my mind – I thought of the idea for this new song a week ago, and next week it’s getting released! 

I think this is a fantastic idea. Lets say he “releases” a pre-release CD, like CBS does with CSI. I buy it for the normal CD price, and I get the tracks as they are released onto iTunes. This means – as he points out – that he can keep the tracks really really topical – “wow, I just downloaded a parody of that new Rhehana track taking the piss out of Sarah Palin on last nights debate!” without the material being stale waiting for the whole album to be finished.

The listener gets the music as it comes out, and gets the excitement of something new coming out often.

The artist gets to both interact closely with their audience, and also gets (I assume) revenue for the CD BEFORE it’s actually done. Talk about an everyone-wins situation.

I guess the only problem would come if somehow they don’t have the right number of tracks – I paid for 12, but 2 were not up to his standard, so the CD is now only 10 – but iTunes has a precedent for handling that really well during the writers strike, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Bring it on, I say – I think this is a fabulious way to release music.