Through various social networking sites such as Twitter and Myspace, Amanda Palmer: musician, singer, sometimes member of The Dresden Dolls, and recent victim of artistic homicide (check out her solo debut “Who Killed Amanda Palmer?”) made a request of her fans – If you like her music, can she crash at your place?
In the latest instances of artists attempting to thrive in a world without the support of the record labels, Amanda's flying solo – and finding that this level of business is more her style. With no support from her record label Road Runner, she sought help from what should have been the most likely place – her fans.
*“i brought a troupe of back-up actors/dancers on the tour (we were only playing 300-1000 seaters) and had no money to pay them, so we passed the hat into the crowd every night. each performer walked from each show with about $200 in cash. the fans TOOK CARE OF THEM. they brought us dinner every night, gave us places to sleep. (i couldn’t afford to put up that many people in hotels). all sans label, all using email and twitter. the fans followed the adventure. they LOVED HELPING.”
Palmer's struggle against her label for her subsequent release has escalated in recent weeks when she asked fans to pass along footage of a song she performed live titled “Please Drop Me” that turned out to be a 'Dear John' letter to the label.
These latest events, though only in a small demographic, point to an exciting and well deserved change in how the music industry views its fans. Take care of us, and we're more than happy to take care of you.
[ Photo from http://www.whokilledamandapalmer.com, *http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2009/04/05/e-mail-of-the-day-14/ ]
Interesting, not a big fan of The Dresden Dolls necessarily but it has been interesting hearing about what she's been doing through you via our various but scattered MSN conversations.
ReplyDeleteNot sure where the tide of industry will go, but change is on the way. People who resist will only be left behind.