Bands respond to the shortcomings of the music industry
"I may have bought two CDs in my life," says 14-year-old Felix B., a student at a high school in Krefeld. The pleasure of a physical medium is, like for many others, too costly for him.
The rock band "Massendefekt" is reacting to the long-standing trend. While their first three studio albums were sold in the traditional way, the band from Meerbusch will release their new EP "Kung Fu Charlie" for free download starting April 20. It is up to the music fan to decide whether they want to send a fee to the Lower Rhine band for the tracks.
"We don't think it's right when we see that our albums are sometimes sold for 16.99 euros over the counter, and we believe that many other bands will follow a similar path in the future," the band members explain their new approach. A way in which "Massendefekt" wants to defy the usual scheme of the media industry.
While millions of households had their own internet connection within a few years, record companies clung to their old distribution concept at that time. This led to a noticeable decline in CD sales in the following years.
For those who don't like MP3s, the new "Massendefekt" EP can still be purchased as usual for the home CD player directly from the band – for just 5 euros, it remains well below the usual CD prices.
After more than a year of hiatus, the band will tour Germany again starting April 25, playing at festivals alongside Selig, Deichkind, Silbermond, and many more.
www.massendefekt.com
Concert dates:
25.04.2009 Düsseldorf
30.04.2009 Hettenrodt
15.05.2009 Detmold
27.06.2009 Alsfeld
