How Iron Maiden turned piracy into paying customers

[TheLoony]

http://www.citeworld.com/consumeriza...cmetric?page=1

Iron Maiden has done a great job of going where its fans were, even if those fans were pirates. The band has focused extensively on South American tours in recent years, one of which was filmed for the documentary "Flight 666." After all, fans can't download a concert or t-shirts. The result was massive sellouts. The São Paolo show alone grossed £1.58 million (US$2.58 million) alone.

And in a positive cycle, Maiden's online fanbase grew. According to Musicmetric, in the 12 months ending May 31, 2012, the band attracted more than 3.1 million social media fans. After its Maiden England world tour, which ran from June 2012 to October 2013, Maiden's fan base grew by five million online fans, with a significant increase in popularity in South America.

While the band did not use Musicmetric's analysis directly, Mead notes, "Maiden have been rather successful in turning free file-sharing into fee-paying fans." Other bands could take a lesson from the heavy metal band's success.

So bands now have a new tool to try and make up for the loss of music sales. Emphasis is now on touring and t-shirts as CD sales dwindle. "If you engage with fans, there is a chance to turn a percentage into paying customers. You can see that through various bands using the BitTorrent network in a legal way to share content," said Mead


I buy what I can but I have no qualms over downloading something. Heck, even Iron Maiden is guilty or re-releasing things numerous times and how many times am I supposed to buy the same thing? At least Maiden has the balls to go where most other bands won't go and it seems to be a big cash cow for them. The way I see it the RIAA has been slower than dinosaurs in getting with the times and if they are too damned stubborn to get with it then to hell with them. This internet thingy has made them pretty much useless IMO. I've never really understood the whole argument in favor of the RIAA, as artists make almost nothing of the sale of a cd, which cost little to produce, or .mp3 which costs even less to produce.

Why should the suits make all the money off of what a band does? Why shouldn't the band make the money? Sure, it may cost a few bucks to actually make the thing but most albums aren't Chinese Democracy and cost $13 million to make.

I'm sitting here watching Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death Live, something that can't be bought and much of what I've downloaded over the years falls into this category. So I'm a law breaker for downloading something that can't be bought?

So, what say you?

[Facelift]

If you're happy and Iron Maiden is happy, then that's all that matters.

[JIF]

Heck, even Iron Maiden is guilty or re-releasing things numerous times and how many times am I supposed to buy the same thing?

No one is asking you to. Also, by my count, Maiden has only reissued their music twice. That's not as much as other artists.

[TheLoony]

I haven't bought any of the IM reissues, just pointing out that they are there and the issue of record companies gouging consumers for something they already own. It may be "only twice" but that means there are three different cd's out there, three times for the record company to make money off something Iron Maiden produced, not them and IM makes next to nothing off of these.

The RIAA needs to either go away or rethink their business strategies. Making the new kids on the block - Napster - go away and replace it with the nearly identical iTunes shows they will go to any length to keep the profits coming in, yet the RIAA doesn't produce music, the musicians do. THEY should be the ones to reap the profits.

The world has moved on (as Roland the Gunslinger says) and the RIAA ain't moving along with it. With music moving into the non-corporeal realm and no real in-hand product to buy, I do wonder how it will all shake down.

[JKL2000]

Haven't the IM albums only been reissued when they had gone OOP and switched labels? We're they reissued recently? Mine are from sort of a long time ago. Not the 2cds but the ones that came after.

[klothos]

http://www.citeworld.com/consumeriza...cmetric?page=1

Iron Maiden has done a great job of going where its fans were, even if those fans were pirates. The band has focused extensively on South American tours in recent years, one of which was filmed for the documentary "Flight 666." After all, fans can't download a concert or t-shirts. The result was massive sellouts. The São Paolo show alone grossed £1.58 million (US$2.58 million) alone.

And in a positive cycle, Maiden's online fanbase grew. According to Musicmetric, in the 12 months ending May 31, 2012, the band attracted more than 3.1 million social media fans. After its Maiden England world tour, which ran from June 2012 to October 2013, Maiden's fan base grew by five million online fans, with a significant increase in popularity in South America.

While the band did not use Musicmetric's analysis directly, Mead notes, "Maiden have been rather successful in turning free file-sharing into fee-paying fans." Other bands could take a lesson from the heavy metal band's success.

So bands now have a new tool to try and make up for the loss of music sales. Emphasis is now on touring and t-shirts as CD sales dwindle. "If you engage with fans, there is a chance to turn a percentage into paying customers. You can see that through various bands using the BitTorrent network in a legal way to share content," said Mead

Why should the suits make all the money off of what a band does? Why shouldn't the band make the money? Sure, it may cost a few bucks to actually make the thing but most albums aren't Chinese Democracy and cost $13 million to make.

So, what say you?

Seriously, does Iron Maiden think this is something new that they just discovered? LOL -- In the industry, this is the basic premise of what is called the "New Business Model"...and has been the blueprint-of-survival by just about every new band in the 2000s til present. Younger successful bands like A Day To Remember, OK Go, Panic! At The Disco, Maroon 5, etc, etc all knew this - and have been doing this - a decade ago. Bands that were at the tail-end of the Corporate Label/Royalty-era, like Radiohead (to name one), have all switched over to the new business model during the 2000s .....This isn't new: Iron Maiden is just late to the party

The world has moved on (as Roland the Gunslinger says)

Yar

[davis]

fans can't download a concert

.

IM may want to follow the Metallica and/or Gov't Mule or even the Blues Traveler models:

http://www.livemetallica.com/

http://www.muletracks.com/

https://archive.org/details/BluesTraveler for free

[glawster2002]

Seriously, does Iron Maiden think this is something new that they just discovered? LOL -- In the industry, this is the basic premise of what is called the "New Business Model"...and has been the blueprint-of-survival by just about every new band in the 2000s til present. Younger successful bands like A Day To Remember, OK Go, Panic! At The Disco, Maroon 5, etc, etc all knew this - and have been doing this - a decade ago. Bands that were at the tail-end of the Corporate Label/Royalty-era, like Radiohead (to name one), have all switched over to the new business model during the 2000s .....This isn't new: Iron Maiden is just late to the party

The difference is that it is much easier for a new band operate a business model relevant to today as it is a natural thing to do. The difference with IM is they have evolved what they have been doing for years in to a modern business model whilst still retaining their traditional core fan base.

A friend of a friend runs his own business and belongs to a local Business Lunch Club, where local businessmen meet once a month to network and share ideas, every month when they meet they have a guest speaker. A year or so ago Bruce Dickinson was the speaker and he gave a talk on how, since he rejoined in 2000, the band have transformed themselves in to a commercial business encompassing everything they do, from recording, touring, merchandising, etc. He also said that in the intervening 14 years since he rejoined they have doubled the average audience size at their shows, halved the average age of those attending to @ 25, and broadened their appeal so a lot more women go to their shows, this has all had a positive impact on the IM "brand".

[klothos]

The difference is that it is much easier for a new band operate a business model relevant to today as it is a natural thing to do. The difference with IM is they have evolved what they have been doing for years in to a modern business model whilst still retaining their traditional core fan base.

A friend of a friend runs his own business and belongs to a local Business Lunch Club, where local businessmen meet once a month to network and share ideas, every month when they meet they have a guest speaker. A year or so ago Bruce Dickinson was the speaker and he gave a talk on how, since he rejoined in 2000, the band have transformed themselves in to a commercial business encompassing everything they do, from recording, touring, merchandising, etc. He also said that in the intervening 14 years since he rejoined they have doubled the average audience size at their shows, halved the average age of those attending to @ 25, and broadened their appeal so a lot more women go to their shows, this has all had a positive impact on the IM "brand".

Prince is one of several artists that has been doing the "New Business Model" since the early 90s - before the MP3 fiasco even occurred. Todd Rundgren has been a torch-carrier for it since the 80s and even Frank Zappa predicted seeds about it in the 70s in some interviews.

So, there really isnt a difference: All the article tells me is "Old Dog(s) That Were Set In Their Ways Learn The New Trick That Most Other Dogs Already Knew"

[JKL2000]

Prince is one of several artists that has been doing the "New Business Model" since the early 90s - before the MP3 fiasco even occurred. Todd Rundgren has been a torch-carrier for it since the 80s and even Frank Zappa predicted seeds about it in the 70s in some interviews.

So, there really isnt a difference: All the article tells me is "Old Dog(s) That Were Set In Their Ways Learn The New Trick That Most Other Dogs Already Knew"

Todd seems to suck at doing it. Not his music, just the marketing of it. I know I've mentioned it several times over the years, but the guy doesn't even have a functioning, up to date web site, or a mailing list.

[glawster2002]

Prince is one of several artists that has been doing the "New Business Model" since the early 90s - before the MP3 fiasco even occurred. Todd Rundgren has been a torch-carrier for it since the 80s and even Frank Zappa predicted seeds about it in the 70s in some interviews.

So, there really isnt a difference: All the article tells me is "Old Dog(s) That Were Set In Their Ways Learn The New Trick That Most Other Dogs Already Knew"

It is easy to say X did this in 198x and Y did this in 199x but how many of those "other dogs" have been as successful in making the transition as IM seem to have been given their continuing global success?

[klothos]

It is easy to say X did this in 198x and Y did this in 199x but how many of those "other dogs" have been as successful in making the transition as IM seem to have been given their continuing global success?

Im not here to debate the level of success that Iron Maiden had with it: Kudos to them but my point is that the article paints it in the light that Iron Maiden figured this great new idea out and implemented this brand new business epiphany!! when - in actuality - this has been put into successful practice by a whole lot of artists way before IM figured it out (Over the past decade, just about every successful artist has used it in some degree)

As far as transitioning, there are also a lot of bands that were signed by corporate labels in the 90s that made the exact transition from Corporate Label Mode to New Business Model. Among those are Phish and Radiohead just to name two. REM also practiced it for their remaining years til their 2011 breakup

[BrianG]

David Byrne explains this new music business model nicely in his book "How Music Works". He has a few chapters devoted to the available options for Label / Musician contracts. He says it depends on the musician's interests and business acumen. Although IM and David Byrne may have become great self-promoters and are making enough money to survive as an artist, and Todd Rundgren thinks he has it all worked out for himself, most musicians are still lousy self-promoters and not by definition business people.

That is where the label comes in to help, or not help, the artist. Some musicians will work with an enlightened label interested in their combined best interest, some musicians will sell out to a greedy label, and some will self-promote.

But don't forget, it is still up to us music consumers to lead the way and support (financially!) our favorite bands and genres.

[Jerjo]

As it turns out, the story about Iron Maiden might not even be true.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/27/how...nternet-truth/

[TheLoony]

Jerjo, that is most likely the case. The original had a disclaimer added but I threw it up here anyway, just to see what kind of discussion would arise. As you guys actually know what you are talking about it's nice to have a discussion here with knowledgable people. Mostly.

Maiden were the bees knees whan I was in high school, back in them dinosaur days, but to see them at this level thirty odd years later is pretty amazing. Whatever they are doing, it's working, and kudos to them for doing whatever it is they are doing to keep up a fan base like they have.

[JIF]

Jerjo, that is most likely the case. The original had a disclaimer added but I threw it up here anyway, just to see what kind of discussion would arise. As you guys actually know what you are talking about it's nice to have a discussion here with knowledgable people. Mostly.

Maiden were the bees knees whan I was in high school, back in them dinosaur days, but to see them at this level thirty odd years later is pretty amazing. Whatever they are doing, it's working, and kudos to them for doing whatever it is they are doing to keep up a fan base like they have.

The Y2K Maiden albums have all been killer.