danapalooza

It seems as if more and more old paradigms for doing just about anything these days are crumbling. We act as if it’s the end of doing that thing but we forget that it hasn’t always been done the way it’s being done now. Sometimes we are ahistorical to a fault.

Bryan Lam (@freshbreakfast) lays out his ideas for how bands can make money in the post-CD age.

I believe it’s very possible to revitalize the music industry with free music, without relying on unrealistic growth in the existing concert and merch sector. This requires us to create an entirely new product offering to fans. And unlike recorded music, this product’s value must be in harmony with the realities of the internet. In this essay, I hope to outline the contours and justifications for the viability of a new model, which I’m going to label “crowd patronage”.