Part II of our roundup of gear, guitar and music blogs. We read ‘em, so you don’t have to. Design Workshop blog features some beautiful luthier work including a $28,000 one-of-a-kind. Carl Verhayen’s blog, and The Guitar Channel for prog rock fans. Read more…
Coldplay’s New Record: 500,000 iTunes Downloads
Billboard breaks news on Coldplay’s digital strategy paying off for them with a new iTunes record, 500,000 downloads in one week. Sweet. Their strategy, according to this reporter is stage-managed to drive physical and digital sales:
Coldplay's digital strategy pays off with sales of new release.
“Coldplay’s decision to bypass subscription services appears to be part of a purpose-driven approach to digital marketing. Rather than using free audio and video streams in the hope they will lead to album sales, the band is more forcefully encouraging listeners to purchase downloads or CDs. And by keeping the album away from on-demand services, Coldplay is ensuring fans will buy (or find other ways to obtain the music) rather than listen for free.”
(Full article here.) This makes sense to my ears, and in the case of a huge band like Coldplay seems to be rather an easy decision. Now if you are an unknown artist or band, I can see Spotify and other streaming services and possibly one way to get noticed. Can we think of any smaller acts that have similar digital strategies?