Idlewild using Channel 4 footage as an incentive to pre-order digital downloads

A lot of the debate around digital piracy, DRM, rights issues, and the music industry centres around the argument that the old business model is broken, so you need to find a new business model, and I spotted an interesting approach to digital marketing by the band Idlewild last week.

Idlewild have a new single released on February 26th, and in advance they are offering a 'four formats for four pounds bundle'. The package includes 2 7" vinyl singles, each with an exclusive b-side, plus a CD EP with a video and exclusive track, and a live digital download of the single recorded last month.

(I'll leave aside for a moment my constant argument that actually you could put all of those tracks onto one CD, into one digital download bundle or on one vinyl format and both save the environment and be more convenient to your fans trying to convert the vinyl exclusive into zeroes'n'ones for their phone or mp3 player.)

What struck me about it all was something I've not seen before. The band are offering that if you pre-order the digital download, you will be instantly given a link to watch in advance a segment of a Channel 4 4Play show featuring Idlewild, with the promise that you can watch it before transmission as many times as you like.

I thought it was an interesting approach to both promoting the Channel 4 show, digitally rewarding fans for their loyalty, and to using new media and old media together to try and maximise the chance of the single hitting the UK charts on the Sunday after the 'release'.

Plus, for the fan, it certainly seems more worthwhile than pre-ordering the new Idlewild album "Make Another World" and earning the old media chance to enter a competition...

Posted by Martin Belam, February 19, 2007
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