Swedish Indie Band Release Only One Copy Of Their Latest Song Via eBay Art Project
from the it's-the-souvenir dept
Sweden is home, of course, to the folks who run The Pirate Bay, but it’s also the home of numerous indie bands and indie labels that are doing some really interesting experiments that focus on embracing the opportunities and possibilities presented by technology, rather than fighting against it all. Dan Sellberg writes in to alert us to an amusing experiment by the band Bob Hund, who is releasing a new song, called Fantastiskt, but they’re doing so by selling the only copy in existence of the song on eBay as an art project:
“Fantastiskt” will be sold and delivered as an art piece comprising; the original master dubplate vinyl (the only existing copy) mounted on a real working turntable with cover art, song lyrics and monogram etched onto the lid by the artist Martin Kann.
Comments on “Swedish Indie Band Release Only One Copy Of Their Latest Song Via eBay Art Project”
As of 1:10 Pacific Time on 3/10/2009
the price is $1775
not bad and still some days left
Thats pretty awesome but...
But.. they should offer a free replacement cover for the record player. That nasty ass scribbling is *NOT* art. It’s just nasty.
Other than that one minor detail, this is a pretty neat experiment.
Goodwill
Stuff like this do more than just bring in a few bucks on the side and generate buzz (which is does quite well). It also makes people *like* the band. You hear their name and smile.
This is opposed to, say, Metallica whom I loved but now curse. They hate me, a former fan, and am happy to hate them right back (and skip their concerts and CDs).
Is that a USB turntable, so the buyer can easily rip the songe and make it available online? It would be interesting to see how far/fast it spreads via P2P, since it is literally starting with only one copy!
This would never work for a big artist ..
Re: never work.
I STRONGLY disagree. Think about how much someone would pay for the ONLY EXISTING COPY of a song by Madonna or some other huge superstar. Its the equivalent of Michael Jackson’s glove, or Elvis’s glasses or something. Scarcity and Supply and Demand.
so original...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_Supermarkets
Hey Swedish band Bob Hund, 1983 called and said hello…
been done..
An artist by the name of Robert Hampson(formerly of Loop, Main and several other indie bands) has been doing this for years. He sells exactly 1 copy of the song and that’s all there is.
It will be interesting to see how fast the song becomes available online for free.
Look closely at the handwritten label…. “All Rights Reversed” 🙂
What if...
What if the person who bought it just destroyed it once it arrived?
lol
Re: lol
All rights reserved not reversed.
LOL @ MeMeMe
Radical
But check this out. Here is where you can use “free” to make money. Buy this. Then rip it. Post the rip to all the free/torrent/whatever places you can. Wait a while. Then offer the ONLY EXISTING COPY OF THE MASTER of this song. You’ve (hopefully) created interest by giving away a digital copy (lower quality, get it anywhere) of a scarce item (the original, and only, master copy). If you feel particularly charitable, share some of the profits back with the band. There can be no copyright violations since you own the original, and there are no “reproduction rights” as there is only a single copy.
Re: Radical
Owning the vinyl master does not imply ownership of the copyright. Copyright still belongs to the band.
Now, if they were smart, they would officially grant the buyer the right to rip the track and give it away, as that would further increase interest in the band.
Re: Re: Radical
Nice to see someone understand the difference between owning the only copy of a song and owning the rights. You must have missed the last cup of the koolaid 😉
Re: Re: Re: Radical
The only problem with this is that if they gave the rights to the person that bought it that person could make a profit by selling it… or is that a problem? Now you’re not only selling the only recording in existence, but also the rights to reproduce it and sell it. Now its a potential cash cow. The whole time you’re getting free publicity on top of whatever outrageous price you sold the original for. BRILLIANT!
If we find this song on the torrents I suppose the band pretty much knows who to blame.
It won’t be hard to figure out who shared the song when it shows up in torrentland.
Yeah and?
“If we find this song on the torrents I suppose the band pretty much knows who to blame.”
“It won’t be hard to figure out who shared the song when it shows up in torrentland.”
And so? You bought AN ORIGINAL. You can do whatever you want with it. There ARE no reproduction rights. What are you going to sue over? Lost revenue? Copy infringement? THERE ARE NO OTHER COPIES! You cant infringe on a right that doesnt exist.
WRONG!
Sure but since there IS NO OTHER COPIES of the song, it is effectively a moot point. If the band were to release the song in ANY other way then sure, they have the “right” to that. Creating one singular unique copy of something, and selling it on THAT basis, is essentially creating that work FOR the buyer. Anything else is fraud. You cant have it both ways. Copyright and first-sale law does not allow you to misrepresent the conditions of the creation for sale (IE I am creating a unique, one-off item for YOU (the buyer)) and then turn around later and say “I have rights! we are making new copies available of this!” It either is or it isnt, you cant smoke-and-mirrors one way, then retract it all later on.