[Dixielandjazz] SELLING CDs on The Web

[Stephen Barbone]

Not OKOM, but very interesting to all bands and band leaders. It appears
as if now is the time to take control of your own recording destiny. The
industry is surely changing.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

November 17, 2003 - NY Times

Pearl Jam, on Its Own, Seizes the Moment and Sells CD on the Web

By CHRIS NELSON

         When Pearl Jam's contract with Sony Music Entertainment's Epic
Records expired earlier this year, how the iconoclastic band would
exploit its new freedom quickly became a topic of great interest to
music industry executives.

The band's manager, Kelly Curtis, assumed that he had until next year to
decide how the band would distribute its work now that it controlled its
own master recordings. But the future arrived earlier than Mr. Curtis
had expected when the band came up with a new song called "Man of the
Hour." Mr. Curtis and the band had to figure out how to get the song to
fans.

Two days after the band's Web site, pearljam.com, began accepting orders
on Nov. 10, almost 4,800 CD's had been sold, Mr. Curtis said. By way of
comparison, the top-selling single for the two weeks ended Nov. 9 has
been the Christian band MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine," which sold more
than 7,000 copies both weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Man of the Hour" was also made available for streamed listening on
RealNetworks' music Web site (music.real.com) and immediately became the
most popular free track on the site, a company spokesman, Matt Graves,
said. The single will be available for purchase tomorrow as a download
through Apple
Computer's iTunes.

"The song kind of happened super-quick, kind of out of nowhere," Mr.
Curtis said. In late September, the director Tim Burton asked Pearl Jam
to contribute a tune to his film "Big Fish," which will be released in
New York and Los Angeles next month.

Pearl Jam is known for raging against the music industry machine with
endeavors like taking antitrust action against Ticketmaster in 1994 and
releasing scores of live albums from each of its last two tours.

Rather than signing with a single worldwide entertainment corporation,
Mr. Curtis said last summer that he would explore an assemblage of deals
that could involve major labels in some countries, independents in
others and self-releases in the United States.

Making 50,000 copies of "Man of the Hour" and issuing the song for
streaming and downloading is an initial step to determine what the band
is capable of on its own, Mr. Curtis said. "It's a way for us to get our
feet wet and see what works for us and where we need help."

Pearl Jam made its deal for the movie directly with Sony Pictures
Entertainment. The song will also be available on the film's soundtrack,
which will be released next month - by Epic Records.