Marillion:“We were the first band to recognise the potential of the internet,”

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FYI -

The example of pomp rockers Marillion — not the hippest of bands — suggests a new business paradigm. Dropped by their record company for being unfashionable, the band had to cancel a US tour, until Jeff Woods, a fan from Raleigh, North Carolina, took matters into his own hands. Woods, who had been to 75 Marillion concerts, raised £37,000 online from other fans and the tour went ahead. Realising the power of the internet to build a like-minded artistic community, within months 13,000 fans had each paid Marillion £16 in advance — totalling more than £200,000 — which allowed the band to record their recent CD Anoraknophobia. Suddenly, Marillion had the biggest recording advance of their career and no record company to call their tune.

“We were the first band to recognise the potential of the internet,” said the singer Steve Hogarth. “We have cut out the middle men in suits, who have been taking most of our money for the past 20 years. What is so brilliant about the net is that we can ask 40,000 fans at the touch of a button what they think about a proposed release. It makes music incredibly democratic.”

Having sacked their manager and fired their booking agent — fans now book the shows — the band employ a full-time web editor to keep www.marillion.com up to date. He sits in the office next to their recording studio — a fan could not get much closer without being on stage — and band members visit the site’s forum twice-weekly to contribute to the debate.

“Sure, the net threatens the record industry,” Hogarth said, “but it doesn’t threaten the artist. It frees the artist.”

(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2103-524948,00.html)

...Are they really the first to do this on a large scale? b'jeezus, it took 'em long enough...

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 6 January 2003 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

marillo r pioneers! who could have imagined this?

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 6 January 2003 17:35 (twenty-two years ago)

for my sins, i maintain a shadow of an interest based on a teenage fascination with all things prog (and YES marillion are insufferably unhip and, for the large part the rep is deserved but there are the occasional nuggets on e.g. a good part of the afraid of sunlight album. for the most part, though, a trip to see marillion is like a after-hours knees-up at an accountancy convention).

the above story has done the rounds and they've moved on: the latest marillion wheeze is to not only to get fans to purchase the next album in order to fund it but ALSO to charge them £30 a shot in order for them to promote it (ads, radio, tour etc). Jeez, Louise.

“We were the first band to recognise the potential of the internet,” said the singer Steve Hogarth.

Not sure about this... and i think mr h is prone to a little bit of hyperbole (i think the last one of note was of the similarity of marillion to massive attack). I think I read somewhere that Joni Mitchell was doing something similar?

― geoff, Monday, 6 January 2003 17:46 (twenty-two years ago)

we can ask 40,000 fans at the touch of a button what they think about a proposed release
A: "DON'T!"

― zebedee, Monday, 6 January 2003 17:46 (twenty-two years ago)

errr... maybe that was a stupid admission

― geoff, Monday, 6 January 2003 17:48 (twenty-two years ago)

seriously though, do they really mean the fans can shape the way the rezcord turns out? composition by committee so to speak? well, if they paid for it in advance, fair enuff. but giving people what they want/expect seems rather pointless from a creative standpoint, no?

― zebedee, Monday, 6 January 2003 17:50 (twenty-two years ago)

"...the place looks wonderful from here...
and ya folks look wonderful from here .... "
--"write me something like that.. can ya do it?"

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 6 January 2003 17:58 (twenty-two years ago)

zebedee, but it's not like Marillion are any good when left to their own devices...

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 6 January 2003 18:01 (twenty-two years ago)

>>>>>...do they really mean the fans can shape the way the rezcord turns out? composition by committee so to speak? well, if they paid for it in advance, fair enuff. but giving people what they want/expect seems rather pointless from a creative standpoint, no?

this will probably appear to be apologism, but im sure they would claim not. The deal is pay up front, no say in the music. And to be fair if it were that way then they would be putting out quadruple concept albums about middle earth

― geoff, Monday, 6 January 2003 18:06 (twenty-two years ago)

>>> The deal is pay up front, no say in the music. And to be fair if it were that way then they would be putting out quadruple concept albums about middle earth

AND THEYRE NOT ALREADY!!!

just thought id get the obvious in first

― geoff, Monday, 6 January 2003 18:07 (twenty-two years ago)

most of ILE would gladly pay for "quadruple concept albums about middle earth" hahahaha

― zebedee, Monday, 6 January 2003 18:10 (twenty-two years ago)

their BIG POP HIT has better lyrics than I'd remembered, though.

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Tuesday, 7 January 2003 06:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Jake Shillingford to thredd!

― Charlie (Charlie), Tuesday, 7 January 2003 06:51 (twenty-two years ago)

let's try that again...

― Charlie (Charlie), Tuesday, 7 January 2003 06:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Michael Gira sold a limited edition live album from the Angels of Light through his website to pay for the next studio album. Good approach, actually!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 January 2003 07:01 (twenty-two years ago)

http://furia.com/twas/twas0334.html

Is it just coincidence that Marillion tried their noble funding experiment for this album, and then produced one that seems undisciplined, uncharacteristic and unmemorable to me? Probably. But then, maybe not.

But then their whole existance as a band and all the money they want are justified just by this:

http://furia.com/twas/twas0293.html

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 7 January 2003 07:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Ahem, Momus?

― J (Jay), Tuesday, 7 January 2003 15:06 (twenty-two years ago)

If all registered ILX posters send me three dollars American apiece, I will name a character after them in my allegorical novel about elves and tractors.

― Ian Johnson, Tuesday, 7 January 2003 22:33 (twenty-two years ago)

well worth the money id say

― CUNT, Wednesday, 8 January 2003 00:13 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

What happened to Marillion?

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 12 January 2004 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I stopped caring circa "Kayleigh" (although "Incommunicado" wasn't bad).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:01 (twenty-one years ago)

they got married, to a lion

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:02 (twenty-one years ago)

“We have cut out the middle men in suits, who have been taking most of our money for the past 20 years. What is so brilliant about the net is that we can ask 40,000 fans at the touch of a button what they think about a proposed release. It makes music incredibly democratic.”

That's pretty sweet. I can imagine the guys back in 1983 BBS-ing on their Apple IIe's on their 2400 baud modems asking all of their gazillion fans on their Apples, Commodores, or Atari 800s which take to use on their mid-album opus.

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:05 (twenty-one years ago)

they are still going, and i believe are releasing an album and touring this year.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Marillion have a decent enough loyal fanbase to have had some success with this method. i encourage it for all other bands though. i am certainly surprised that Radiohead for one have not taken more initiative in this way (perhaps just contractual ties).

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm surprised that an artsy band like Marillion is not familiar with King Crimson.

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:09 (twenty-one years ago)

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