I just saw this article from brilliant American jazzers Snarky Puppy and I thought I would share it with you.
We know this has been the topic of conversation for a while now. We recently repressed a limited edition of vinyl (with a free digital download of the OnDemand film and MP3’s) for our record We Like It Here. As of today, it is now available for pre-order in our North American and European store. We also just put the feature film with bonus features up on Vimeo, so you can rent or buy it digitally in high definition. In addition to this, we have also redelivered We Like It Here to all streaming and digital platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. While we still feel that the streaming model is not yet compensating artists fairly, the bottom line is that we care more about reaching our listeners than selling records. This ultimately affects what kind of records we can make and how often we make them, but I think it’s worth it at this moment in time. That said, we are at a point in our career (after almost a decade and a half of music making) in which we can carry on without selling albums the way we used to. We actually make money on tour. We sell merch. We sell sheet music. Though we do feel the hit of loss of album sales, we’re fine with our alternative revenue streams and we can survive. Many artists- many artists you LOVE- can not. So, for those of you with the desire and means to support artists, I humbly encourage that you buy their music. Physical, direct digital download (which you can now import into streamers like Spotify)… anything helps. You wouldn’t believe how many incredible musicians I have spoken with over the last few months who are desperate about their situations right now. Thinking about quitting. Living on friends’ couches. These are artists you know, and who you probably think are doing well for themselves. But of course they will never show this side- their struggles, their deep internal battles, their disappointments- on social media. So please, use streaming to discover artists. Then go the extra (very easy) step and help them make more beautiful music by buying it. Thank you for reading.
US: https://store.snarkypuppy.com/products/we-like-it-here-vinyl-lp
EUROPE: https://storeeurope.snarkypuppy.com/products/we-like-it-here-vinyl-lp
Feature Film: https://vimeo.com/246043234