Ukulelehead, Or Why Amanda Palmer Represents the Future of the Music Industry

Last week, Amanda Palmer released an EP entitled "Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele." Which, aside from the reputed yet unverified mystical powers of her instrument, is exactly what the title suggests. The seven-song collection includes renditions of singles "Idioteque" and "No Surprises," two live versions of "Creep," and more. It is Palmer's first fully independent release since her very public split with Roadrunner Records earlier this year.

She's emulating Radiohead in more ways than one, offering the record through her website and giving fans the option to pay as little as 84 cents for a digital version (to recoup licensing and other costs), and more if they choose. My guess is that most buyers will at least round up to a dollar.

It's indisputable at this point that Palmer is somewhat of a marketing genius — and a seemingly tireless one, at that. But guess what? Her constant Twittering, live video chats and all-around shameless self-promotion have paid off. Pay attention, musical upstarts. This is how it's done.

Sure, sure, you might be saying. A bunch of uber-fans sprung for special vinyl/T-shirt/handpainted ukulele packages (not kidding) and thousands of other people threw down a couple bucks for the EP. But is it any GOOD?

The answer is, yes. Quite good, in fact.

Amanda Palmer - "Idioteque"

It's refreshing to hear interpretations of songs that are actually ... well, interesting. It seems that today, for every album or song that's released, a remix version (or several) drops a few weeks later. Usually what this amounts to is little more than some DJ or up-and-coming indie act fiddling around on ProTools, i.e. doing nothing even remotely intriguing with the original track. On her Radiohead EP, Palmer takes these songs and makes them her own - for better ("Idioteque") or worse ("High and Dry"). But at least she's doing something a little different. I daresay she actually breathes new life into familiar tracks like "Fake Plastic Trees," which gains even more emotional resonance when performed in such a minimalist (and newly autobiographical, when sung by a woman) manner.

And better yet, she's figured out a way to independently capitalize on her art as well — something few modern artists can claim. Again, she's making the record available for AS LITTLE AS EIGHTY-FOUR CENTS. No one, NO ONE, has a leg to stand on when criticizing this effort. In fact, record labels maybe should get a clue — the nuclear effect of illegal downloads on the record industry might be nonexistent, had corporations not insisted, over the years, on what amounts to about a million percent markup on compact discs.

The music industry is tanking, yet labels and concert promoters continue to throw obscene amounts of money at artists with little or no talent, hoping to land the next big thing. It rarely pays off. By eliminating the middle man, Amanda Palmer's created what might be a new, smarter business model going forward. And the product she's pushing isn't half bad, either.



Comments

[Mim]

Well said. I stopped buying cds even before I had an iPod because I was sickened by the ridiculous corporate mark-up. I am thrilled to have the option of paying what I want for new music. More artists need to watch and follow this idea.