Flash drives offer new choices for music fans

When the Mars Volta put out its latest album, "The Bedlam in Goliath," in January, the act gave its hardcore fans an option that is becoming increasingly popular -- and creative.

Instead of a CD or digital version of the Universal album, fans could buy a $30 USB drive designed like a Ouija board planchette. The device comes with a digital-rights-management-free version of the album and the promise of more bonus materials in coming months. Users simply plug it into their computer's USB drive and then listen to the album or download it into their music library.

The Mars Volta joins a growing number of recording artists who have experimented with USB releases in recent months, among them Jennifer Lopez, Ringo Starr and Matchbox Twenty.

More are expected in coming months. Austin-based All Access, the company behind USB releases from Matchbox Twenty and Starr, has signed deals with EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group to make USB bracelets for other artists.

"The selling point to the labels is a really good one -- it's a marriage between merchandise and music so that people will at least buy it instead of stealing it because they want the merchandise," All Access CEO Chris Guggenheim said. "It's the only for-sure non-stolen product."

HIGHER MANUFACTURING COSTS

At this point, the releases are offered more as collectibles to build fan loyalty than as sources of revenue.

The cost of putting an album out on a USB drive is pricier than releasing it on a CD, partly because bands aren't placing bulk orders and partly because flash drives cost more than discs. Guggenheim said that bracelets generally cost $5 to $7 per unit. But costs can rise to $17 per unit or more for flash drives with more memory and other additions.

Universal doesn't expect to make money on the 2,000 USB units it put out for the Mars Volta release or on the 2,000 USB units it will put out for Erykah Badu's February 26 release, "Nu AmErykah," Universal senior vice president of digital business development Cameo Carlson said.

But it does expect to keep fans connected to both acts. Those who buy the Mars Volta USB stick get a new extra on the 29th of each month, ranging from bonus tracks to wallpaper. Badu will create new bonus features throughout the year for those who buy "Nu AmErykah" on USB.

"It's not for everybody," Carlson said. "It's for the hardcore fan that wants tons of pictures, who really wants something more and the opportunity to get new stuff every month."

For bands, USB drives offer a cooler way to get their music to fans in a souvenir package that fans can wear or carry with them, giving the band free promotion.

Starr wore a wristband containing his latest album, "Liverpool 8," to the Grammy Awards, getting attention for the release that a CD jewel case certainly wouldn't. Guggenheim said that about one wristband is sold for every three CDs of Starr's album.

In October, Matchbox Twenty released its latest album, "Exile on Mainstream," on USB bracelets, putting out an initial 25,000 units. Manager Michael Lippman said that "tens of thousands" have been sold.

ROOM FOR EXTRAS

"USB is going to be the future," Lippman said. "You don't have to download it on a computer, you put it in and it comes up, (and) there's plenty of room to add additional material."

Some indie bands have turned to USB drives for releases because they can order fewer units and spend less money than they would for an order of 1,000 CDs, said Ed Donnelly, president of Los Angeles-based Aderra, which makes drives for Barenaked Ladies, Jars of Clay and indie bands like Los Angeles' Killola. Acts can place orders for as few as 100 USB drives preloaded with their album and other goodies.

Along with the songs from the album, Matchbox Twenty included its first video, behind-the-scenes footage, pictures and an Internet link to the band's site.

Based on the success of its album sales on USB, the band is selling bracelets of its live show at concerts during its current tour. All Access replicates the bracelets after a concert in minutes. The bracelets are quickly sent to the merchandising booths, where fans can buy a recording of the show they just saw as they leave. Each bracelet costs the same as one of the band's concert T-shirts.

Barenaked Ladies, considered the pioneers of USB releases, put out "Barenaked on a Stick" in 2005, a 128 MB flash drive loaded with 29 previously released songs plus videos and other content. The band followed it up with souvenir flash drives at its 2006 concerts in support of "Barenaked Ladies Are Me." The concert USB keys came loaded with the new album, live tracks, ringtones and videos for $25.

Willie Nelson, Jars of Clay and the Black Crowes also have sold USB bracelets at concerts.

Bands typically sell the drives to 5 percent of their audience at a show, depending on how tech-savvy the crowd is.

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Orac Records schedules Conrad Schnitzler remixes

Experimental-techno label Orac Records has recently turned its attention to the past, announcing an as-yet-untitled series featuring remixes of the work of Conrad Schniztler. A student of Josef Beuys, an early member of Tangerine Dream, and the co-founder of Krautrock legends Kluster, Schnitzler is perhaps most famous for his cassette concerts featuring a megaphone-wired Walkman attached to a helmet on his head.

Dandy Jack, Thomas Fehlmann, and Bruno Pronsato are among the modern-day heads tackling source material from Schniztler albums like Solo Sq. Rhythmics 1-18 and Solo Electrics 1-13. As Orac co-founder Randy Jones told Earplug, "The mixers have very different approaches to structuring Schnitzler's hermetic sounds in a dance-music context." It's not the first time anyone has set out to remix Schnitzler's work: a similar volume (featuring Carsten Nicolai, Rehberg & Bauer, and Mika Vainio) was planned and aborted a decade ago by the late Norbert Schilling's Plate Lunch Records — the previous outlet for all things Schnitzler. The Orac compilation drops this spring.

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The Who planning new album and festival shows

British rockers The Who have begun mulling their next studio album, on the heels of 2006's "Endless Wire," their first new disc in 24 years.

According to a post on TheWho.com (http://www.thewho.com) from Pete Townshend, the band is considering working with producer T-Bone Burnett, who recently brought Robert Plant and Alison Krauss together for the commercial and critical hit album "Raising Sand."

"I am hoping to come up with some songs for a more conventional Who record," Townshend wrote, adding that Burnett "is an old friend of mine."

The Who may also play "some shows in the festival season this summer," Townshend said. "I would want to do that purely for fun, and I don't want to turn it into a big tour. I need to stay focused on my writing."

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Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986

By Mat Strowbridge

Strut, out February 25th.

In a nutshell…

Distinctive and slow-paced 80s dub.

What's it all about?

A taster of works from the legendary Compass Point studio which, although hosting artists as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Bjork and Mariah Carey, is famed for its extended, dub mixes.

This collection might run at over an hour but it spans a broad enough range of flavours to keep your attention throughout. Whether it's early electro or bass-driven reggae that your looking for there are extracts of both smeared across the thirteen tunes here.

Who's it by?

Back when eight-tracks were still around and the handle-bar moustache was a sign of masculinity, Chris Blackwell set up his own studio in the Bahamas and invited all his friends over to play.

Since then the man who produced Bob Marley and founded Island records has gone on to bigger and better things but still the memory of the early Compass Point studios lives on.

These artists who passed through Blackwell's sacred hands include everyone from Grace Jones to Talking Heads and Sly Dunbar.

As an example...

"Whatcha gonna do when you get out of jail?/I'm gonna have some fun/What do you consider fun?/Fun, natural fun!" –Tom Tom Club – Genius Of Love (12" version)

What the others say

"It is a sound which defined an era… This was vibe music which has remained timeless on dancefloors ever since." –Underground Hip-Hop

"While the story of Compass Point is as rich as it is influential, something still puzzles me. Why no AC/DC? With Back in Black being recorded there in 1980, it would have only been right to include a piece from a project of that magnitude." –URB Magazine

So is it any good?

As a whole this is definitely a positive outing and yet track-by-track some of the tunes lack the certain calibre that you'd expect.

Given the number of quality Compass Point artists, why people like Guy Cuevas make it onto the record is confusing enough but even the chosen Talking Heads and Gwen Guthrie songs aren't as strong as they could have been.

This is a bitter let down and means things start to lag a little towards the half-hour point. The mood begins to feel uninspired and you'd be excused for thinking you were listening to some other mindless compilation.

However, Sly Dunbar's 'River Niger' is a signal for things to improve and the last five tracks come together well to be as good as anything elsewhere. Then, pair these with the offering from Tom Tom Club (their sound still so current it could easily be a new CSS jangle) and the peaks do eclipse the troughs.

In truth, it might not be a bad compilation but with a little more tweaking it's sad that this could have been a brilliant one.

6/10

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Peter Christopherson (Coil) announces SoiSong

Coil and Throbbing Gristle founder Peter Christopherson recently announced the birth of his latest musical project, SoiSong. Hinted at as being his next priority after Gristle and Coil, SoiSong is a collaborative effort between himself and longtime associate Ivan Pavlov, who also records under the moniker COH. According to Christopherson, SoiSong 'will combine Ivan's uncompromisingly-visceral computer based music with Sleazy's decadent, dark and whimsical approach to artificial vocals and 'South Seas' instrumentation'. SoiSong's live debut will occur in Japan this March, followed by live dates in Bangkok, Singapore, as well as some European appearances between May and July. SoiSong's first EP, "SOI-JIN-NO-HI" will be available in March as a free download from www.thresholdhouse.com, as well as a special edition available exclusively from the band at their performances.

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