Biz: Indie Labels Try To Challenge Early Leakers

[muzikfrk]

Today's Chicago Tribune takes a look at the efforts being taken by indie labels to maintain sales in this time of early leaks and .zip-happy fans. As an incentive to fans who aren't really into the whole "paying for music" deal, two of this summer's (relatively) biggest releases--the New Pornographers' Challengers and Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga--are being gussied up with extensive add-on tracks and/or packaging, and the New Pornos' approach is particularly ambitious: Matador is offering an "executive edition" box set that comes with 4,124 additional songs (approximately), and the label has set some high SoundScan expectations for the record:

..,The promotion for the "Challengers" album is the most aggressive the label has offered to date. Matador hopes to sell 250,000 copies of the album, which [Patrick Amory, Matador's general manager] called a "very good" figure for an indie label. The group's 2005 release, "Twin Cinema," sold 160,000 copies.
​

So far, it has been effective. More than 1,000 people have prepaid for the executive package of "Challengers," Amory said.​

A quarter of a million may seem like an awfully lofty goal, but it could happen, especially since the Pornos appeal to just the sort of music nerds who would want to hear as many alternate takes as possible. That said, the group's name still makes our parents very, very uncomfortable, so that demo may be lost to them forever.
Pumping up promotions [Chicago Tribune]
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