Will Comply

I'm sure not all of you are as into Wilco as I am, but I've been putting up a post every time the band announced that they were streaming their upcoming disc, Sky Blue Sky - which at first was only for a few hours, than for a full day at a time, until finally what they've been doing for a while now, streaming it 24/7, which will continue until the albums released on Tuesday.

I've posted about these streams mainly because I'm excited about any new Wilco, but also because I think what the band doing is pretty cool. More and more indie artists are streaming their albums either on their website or on myspace, but Wilco's got a big enough fanbase that they no longer need to put their stuff out there early. I'd like to think that they do it because they are just as excited about their new songs as their fans are and they can't wait for you to hear them. Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy did an interview with Pitchfork and touched on the topic:

I guess the simplest way of saying it is that I don't think that artists should expend any energy keeping people from listening or seeing or hearing or reading their art. I think that's antithetical to the whole principle of being an artist.

At the same time, streams can be lifted and turned into mp3s pretty easily, and you have to wonder how many people are willing to just stick with these homemade downloads. In the interview, Tweedy doesn't seem to think that, once the disc comes out, fans will no longer be satisfied with the lo-fi copies. The email I got from Wilco headquarters recently doesn't sound quite as sure of that as Tweedy does.

What we're getting at here is that right now we need you to participate in a way that is part of what has made this nice little story work. We're actually asking you to please go out next week and do the right thing for Wilco. That is, vote with your feet and prove the band's faith well-placed and buy the record. It's available from Tuesday at all kinds of retailers everywhere. Ask for it by name.

I thought it was an interesting email to send out, especially after reading what Tweedy thought of having the free stuff out there. But I don't think they're asking for a lot (by titling the email "A Modest Proposal," I'm assuming they don't think so either). The band puts the album out there for free knowing that it will be copied and posted all over the internet, and all they ask is that, come release day, you return the favor by supporting the band.

With the record industry getting more impersonal every day, it's cool to see a band put so much trust in their fans. They might have to send you an email reminding you of that trust, but at least it's there.

Comments

[Mighty Boognish]

I've had Sky Blue Sky (the complete album) in my CD player now for at least 2 months, maybe 3. It's one of those "lifted" copies from an internet audio stream. But I've also got the CD+DVD combo pack on pre-order from Amazon. Wilco are worth every penny. The music is just amazing. Personally, I don't think a band like Wilco will suffer much, financially, due to pirated copies. Their core fan base WILL buy the album. People who downloaded it without paying for it and then don't buy it are the ones who wouldn't have bought it in the first place. I think Tweedy is wrong here. I think fans will be disatisfied with the low-fi copies and won't think twice about buying the disc. I suppose we'll know for sure by week's end when the SoundScan numbers come in...

[W]

You should get the vinyl from wilcoworld:

"As a bonus, each vinyl copy will also include a copy of the album on CD"

..that's what I did anyway (and the T-Shirt...)