more on music

There's been quite a bit of discussion recently about the future of music. This month's Fast Company has a fantastic piece on Musictoday - who along with artists like Beck and Barenaked Ladies are changing the way the industry is headed. Musictoday takes charge of the unsexy part of the business that is selling concert tix and also physical goods from a warehouse. The t-shirts, shot glasses, etc. helps artists generate name recognition and build that personal relationship with fans.

As artists start to give away tracks for free on myspace and their own websites, like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has with their new album, it may free up some wiggle room in fan's pockets to buy that t-shirt or concert ticket. If I'm given a cd from a friend and I like the band, I make an extra effort to go to a show, artists get more of that $ anyways - maybe others will start to feel the same?