ArtistShare bypasses music middlemen

Most people probably wouldn’t notice jazz artist Maria Schneider if they passed her on the… Most people probably wouldn’t notice jazz artist Maria Schneider if they passed her on the street. She’s pretty enough, sure, bearing a mild resemblance to the French actress Julie Delpy. But despite her widespread acclaim, she isn’t the kind of musician who is used to making headlines.

And that’s part of the reason why people were so stunned a few weeks ago when it was announced that Schneider had won the Grammy for best large jazz ensemble album. Fans who rushed to the nearest Virgin Megastore to purchase “Concert in the Garden” were confused when they were told that the album was not in stock. It never was.

So how did she win?

Schneider is the first artist ever to participate in a new online business model called ArtistShare. According to ArtistShare’s Web site, “The philosophy is simple. The digital age has devalued the traditional product to the point where the only thing that cannot be stolen or pirated is the artists themselves — their creative process. At ArtistShare the ‘product’ is the creative process.”

In other words, it works a lot like a telethon. When the artist — let’s say Schneider — decides to record a new album, she alerts her fans using her ArtistShare-sponsored Web site. Instead of working through the usual channels — record company executives, managers, and so on — she works directly with her established fan base by allowing them to participate in the recording process in exchange for funding.

The beauty of such a business model is that artists retain complete artistic freedom while developing deeper connections with their fans.

For the maximum donation of $1,000, one of Schneider’s fans is granted access to dozens of rare recordings, MP3s, photographs, signed copies of CDs and hundreds of other incentives. In addition to a copy of his CD, legendary guitarist Jim Hall offers his fans the chance to receive two lessons for $65. Other artists, like Trey Anastasio of Phish, have signed on since Schneider took home the Grammy.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, ArtistShare CEO Brian Camelio said, “I look at it this way: If you open up a coffee shop, you don’t make 10,000 cups of coffee in the hope that people will come in and buy them. You slowly gauge your business and you slowly grow your business. That’s what each of these artists is — a small business. And we try to give them good solid business principles as applied to the life of an artist.”

Besides online services like iTunes, Camelio’s plan is the best answer yet to the proliferation of Internet file sharing programs, which appear to be a reality with which the music industry must cope. Industry leaders should be embracing the possibilities that these technologies offer, rather than trying to sue those who take advantage of them.

John Faye is the lead singer of IKE, a Philadelphia power-pop group. He is also the co-owner of his own label, Bisbee Roadkill Recordings. Recently, thanks to the grassroots support of his local fans, IKE completed its first music video and raised more than 70 percent of its DVD expenses through fan donations and live performances.

“IKE’s business model of developing a fan base that invests in the band is pretty similar to what [ArtistShare] is doing,” Faye wrote in an e-mail.

“One of the options we are considering for the next IKE CD is a similar co-opt deal with a national distributor, where both the artist and distributor contribute to funding the marketing of the record. Obviously, any artist entering a situation like that has to be intensely driven because they are more personally invested in the marketing of the record.”

If such models continue gaining momentum, they could have a profound impact on the underlying structure of the music industry, particularly for local artists, who do not typically benefit from signing a deal with a major label. A plan like ArtistShare would provide them with an alternative to the sink-or-sell-out mentality that is so pervasive in today’s industry.

As Faye puts it, “Most of my closest musician friends started and continue to do it because it’s in their blood, who they are. I’ve been lucky to have a major deal and all the trappings that go with that, but it also gave me perspective enough to be smart about approaching the business as an independent artist. Everyone just needs to try and find their niche.”

Now they can.

E-mail future rock star Michael Darling at mdarling82@yahoo.com.