The WSJ has an article today about Justin Vernon and his new band Bon Iver’s success.
The biggest part of the story is how much of Bon Iver’s success came from blogs.
“Thanks to the buzz his online tracks generated on music blogs and social-networking sites, Mr. Vernon has played at numerous venues and appeared on the "Late Show With David Letterman.” He signed a record deal in October 2007, and his first album, “For Emma, Forever Ago,” sold about 87,000 copies through mid-December, with about half of those downloaded online.“
And if you follow this blog you’ll know that I’m a huge Bon Iver fan. So i’m thrilled that Justin gives so much credit to music blogs.
That’s why I was surprised to get this FB message from his project manager last month.
Including this one, I’ve only received two such "take down” notices since I started posting songs to this site. And both times I took down the material in question immediately.
On the other hand I’ve received tons of supportive emails from various bands thanking me for my support.
The social blogging community is a huge gift to fans and artists alike. I know i would discover less music and buy less music if it wasn’t for the rich community that I’m part of online. Fred called it a song circle awhile back. And I also know that my music posts are getting others to buy more music too.
So we need more artists to believe in blogging and support the new music scene online. It’s gonna happen anyway.