JT Woodruff of Hawthorne Heights Has Some Ideas On How To Save Music

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His latest post is interesting, but I’m pretty sure things are too far gone at this point for these ideas to work. What do you think?

The Death of the Album

I would like to start this off by saying that the music industry is in shambles. Nobody in the “industry” knows how to fix it, so I am turning to the consumer and fan…that’s YOU. In this day in age, people would rather buy a full album on RockBand or Guitar Hero instead of on CD. That is a serious problem…

What is the PROBLEM?

1-People lack the attention span to even buy a whole album, so they would prefer to download “flavor of the week” singles for 99 cents. If I chose to purchase music that way, I would have never even heard of a band like Bayside.

2-Labels are signing too many young bands and releasing an inferior product. Artist development used to have a big place in the industry, but now it seems that labels just pluck bands that have 2 “catchy” songs up on their myspace player. Some bands get signed and then dropped before they even have a chance…which leads to great bands breaking up.

3-It’s too easy to steal music. With the flood of so many new bands each week, all playing the same style of music and wearing the same outfits…how are you supposed to pick the good one? Let’s face it…some are good bands who started a movement, and others are imposters who jumped on the bandwagon. So instead of choosing, people steal music because they can. It takes less than 5 minutes to download a whole cd from a file sharing site…and it’s free. Isn’t that too tempting?

What is the SOLUTION?

1-Labels should stop signing so many young bands, just because they are afraid they are going to miss out on the next big thing. They should focus on pushing the acts that they have already signed and help develop those acts while building their career and audience. Think about how many more new Starting Line records we would have in the future if labels took this approach!

2-Stop licensing songs to video games, commercials, etc. Keep the focus on the band, album, and songs…not a product that has nothing to do with music. If the only way to get music is by purchasing a CD, bands would sell more and be able to tour longer.

3-Stop trivializing bands by selling singles for 99 cents. Some bands have annoying singles, but great records that will never be heard. Sell full physical CD’s for 10 dollars, not MP3’s. This way you get a physical copy, artwork, and maybe even an autograph

Of course, I have a few things to add to this.

First off, all the labels are doing the $.99 single thing right now. The new I Am Ghost and Bayside singles are available that way. Of course, all my brain says is, “screw that, I’ll get the whole thing when I can,” but that’s just me. I lack patience, but I am also not piecing together albums one song at a time.

You know what would really help? Not sticking to hard release schedules. Let’s face it - the Bayside album is out there right now. The new Senses Fail is, too.  People who want them and don’t want to wait for the end of September can pretty easily get them. So why hold back the release? When a band finishes an album, send it to be pressed and put it in stores. This is especially true for punk and independant labels.  It’s not like there’s a multi-million dollar advertising campagin behind these albums… put them in stores, and let the word spread. The Internet is your friend to this end, and maybe, just maybe, if the Internet didn’t have albums weeks or months before they hit stores, people would buy more of them.

Let’s face it — even if someone downloads something with the best intentions of buying it, usually, by the time it hits stores, it’s old news. People on the Internet are ahead of the curve. They’re looking to the next release that gets snuck out, rather than the legitimate date. Is it fair? No. It sucks for the bands, really.  But I blame the labels for this, since there’s no reason to not bump up the release dates to “whenever the album is pressed and finished.”

I bet the I Am Ghost album is sitting around somewhere, waiting to be leaked. October 7th seems awfully far away in my mind… so why not put it in my hands today? I want it, I’d pay for it right this second, if I could. The same with Senses Fail and Bayside. I don’t want to pre-order and wait, either — I want the albums.

JT, though, is dead-on about pricing.  $10. That’s a good price for a CD.  $20 if it comes with a DVD. And if it does? Do us all a favor and make the CD/DVD a one-time thing. Stop re-releasing the same album. The Gold Edition of Bayside’s The Walking Wounded is nice and all, but I already paid for that album. Now I have to pay for the same album again, to get the extras?  Chiodos, I’m looking at you. And no, you don’t get a pass because the Bone Palace Ballet Grand Coda art is as freaking gorgeous as the first time around. Just… stop. If fans know something better is coming in 6-12 months, why would they run out and spend money when the album comes out? There’s no urgency, since the money would be better spent on the one with extra songs, a DVD, and whatever else.

Finally, I do have to wonder… if labels stopped focusing on young bands, would Hawthorne Heights even be as big as they are now? They weren’t exactly old when they were discovered… hell, they’re not even old now. Not to nitpick, but come on, dude.

Hawthorne Heights’ New Album Will Be On… Victory Records

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I remember last year, when Thursday reconciled with the label and released an CD/DVD, I was shocked.  And I’m doubly shocked that Hawthorne Heights, after all their lawsuits and issues with the label, have managed to put all of that aside and will be releasing an album later this year via Victory.

I have to say I also find it incredibly amusing. You see so many posts on the Internet about how evil and horrible Victory Records is.  People who have never dealt with the label, the people who work there, and only know what they read in the press are so quick to turn the label, Tony Brummel, and anyone who works there into the latest members of Batman’s rogue gallery.  And yet… there seems to be a pattern here.  Bands leave the label, looking for sunnier shores in the promises of major labels.  Nothing good comes of it, but in the meantime, they talked all sorts of crap about Victory… and people took it as gospel truth. And once everything implodes with the major, the band ends up going back.

I’ve interviewed countless Victory bands, and not a single one of them had a bad thing to say about the label.  Look at wiL from Aiden’s arm — he has the Victory logo tattooed there.  He, along with every Victory band member I have ever talked to, has nothing but praise for the label.  They go on at length about how supportive the people are, how much freedom they have to record, how much of an effort the label puts into promoting the bands in different and innovative ways.  I’ve never worked with anybody at that label who wasn’t absolutely awesome and amazing and supportive — and I’m just a writer.

As such, I’m not surprised that Hawthorne Heights decided to go back home and release their new album there. Word on the street is the band’s as yet untitled and unrecorded album will be out sometime this summer.  I’m definitely looking forward to it.