Album with no record store -presence wins a Grammy

this is a HUGE jump that will greatly affect what happens concerning the RIAA. they won't be able to sue anybody if more artists follow her. that'll show those recording industry bastards...

I say great for Maria Schneider that she got this done. Now lets wait for the record industry try to Poo-Poo this one. Here is an artist that has avoided the RIAA members (money grubbers) and got her work published and sold anyway, without them! I am sure she has a better deal than the typical contract/deal the RIAA members give. IMO, this is the one thing the RIAA members wanted to avoid, Artists doing it without them. P2P allows this model to work and the RIAA members do not want this to happen, hence the P2P witch hunt to close them down. The beginning of the end for the recording industry idiots is at hand! Now we need more artists using this business model to get them a better deal and take control of their destiny.

Thats pretty amazing. RIAA cough it up!

That is amazing. that totally negates the music companies and record stores. It staggering. i only fear that she will be signed up to a major to stop this from continuing / giving this method publicity. We can only hope that the bigger recording artist decide to go this way. You would be stupid not to! this method is more suited to the big artist that have already made it - with hugh fan base! but even a few thousand loyal fans it seem you can crack the nut. this is so cool!

Simply awsome! She is cracking open a door that may never close.

I find it very interesting that the Grammy Recording Academy even acknowledged this album's existence and even more interesting that it won. The RIAA must be pissing off more than just it's customers...

Well done, Mrs. Schneider!

this is definitely good news for everyone. well except for the RIAA but who cares about them anyway greedy f***s

OK, apparantly unlike most of the post-ers here, I do NOT have it in for the RIAA. They're just businessmen looking after their own legitimate self interests. However, I am still GREATLY pleased by this development. If an artist can reach these heights without the assistance of the traditional music industry, this bodes well for us, the end consumer. It demonstrates a successful new business model that the RIAA will have to adapt to compete with, or ultimately perish. I can't help but wonder though, how did she amass so many fans without going through the traditional process? There must be more to this story. Like Kepners remarked, this method would work much easier for someone who has already "made it" and has an existing customer base. But how does an unknown artist get started along this road without a capital investment from the traditional music industry. Not every musician has 9,000 fans willing to pre-order their next album after all.

steve7059> Can you honestly say that you believe the actions of the RIAA have been responsible sound business practices? Their "self intersts" (good choice of words) may be legitimate, but do you feel their methods have been?

i see it as great in two fold ways, first the obvious fact that someone proved that maybe music isnt always about the money, as the RIAA believes. it also, in my opinion, might start helping artists start taking back control of what was once theres. maybe, if other musicians start to follow in the path of the noble Maria Schneider, they will be able to create/release the music they want to and not have to worry about apeasing record labels and/or large media outlets. maybe the music will stop suffering because of greedy people. and well have ms. schneider to thank.

i see it as great in two fold ways, first the obvious fact that someone proved that maybe music isnt always about the money, as the RIAA believes. it also, in my opinion, might start helping artists start taking back control of what was once theres. maybe, if other musicians start to follow in the path of the noble Maria Schneider, they will be able to create/release the music they want to and not have to worry about apeasing record labels and/or large media outlets. maybe the music will stop suffering because of greedy people. and well have ms. schneider to thank.

sorry about the double post, i was having issues with my browser and couldnt delete the repeasted post.

all artist and music lovers be on the lookout for PRIDEROCKMUSIC.COM which was conceived to give aspiring artist an outlet for their music. for a one time fee of 49.95 said artist can post bios pics, music, news ,even hold chats. Music lovers can now hear music as it was conceived , no longer will what we listen to be controlled. Music lovers can log on and download any song after listening to snippet, or just vote your choice , get access to entire song for $1.00 music lovers can now chat with their favorite artist . for every download said artist receives .25 . once a track goes platinum 100,000 dowmloads artist receives .50 every download thereafter. No longer does an artist have to give away the rights to what is truly a part of them just to be heard by the world . No longer does an artist have to be in the dark about their earnings , here at PRIDEROCKMUSIC.COM artist can log on any time and get their finacial overveiw and always know whats due them. Artist can go straight from the studio , to any Pc and upload their work , and start getting reconized . PRIDEROCKMUSIC.COM is a movement. The Revolution has begun. Any questions or suggestions welcome . post or call 678-612-5021

WARNING: lookout for PRIDEROCKMUSIC.COM! they rip you and the artists off and really only care about making money!

PrideRock Music Ed Pride founder/CEO www.priderockmusic.com email:priderock.music@gmail.com 678-612-5021 AUGUST 2005 THE OVERVIEW The Primary focus of PrideRock Music is to build a community exposing visitors to less know artists aiming to make it big. While sales are also a high priority, to reward the artist, customer retention is very important. Through getting active involvement in their web community, each artist gains fans, as well as acquire a client base waiting to purchase new songs as soon as they are released. Following this psychology, PrideRock Music has developed a membership system and will actively encourage new visitors to sign up. After they have signed up as a member, they get a personal greeting when they visit the site, have the ability to purchase music with just one click, receive news sent via our email, interact with other fans online, chat live with the artist, vote their favorite songs to the top, and more. Through membership signups, the website will also send reminder email to those who haven’t logged in for a while, reminding them their account is still active and there is constantly new events going on, further creating high customer retention, something the majority of websites do not do. PrideRock Music will quickly learn what the each fan likes and gets smart about sending them more music samples they will like. It will help each fan find their own path to the music they like. PrideRock Music will reform the entire music industry and cause a revolution among the fans. When a member purchases a song on PrideRock Music, a $1.99 fee is charged. PrideRock Music as a result pays the artist $1.00 per download. PrideRock Music follows the industry standards in sales such as Silver, Gold and Platinum. When an artist reaches the Silver level 250,000 downloads per one song , PrideRock Music pays the artist $1.25 per mentioned song , Gold level 500,000 downloads per one song PrideRock Music pays the artist $1.50 per mentioned song , and the Platinum level 1,000,000 downloads per song, PrideRock Music pays the artist $1.75 per mention song. THE MARKETING POSITION Marketing is a key area in which the independent and major labels differ, and is therefore a vital part of PrideRock Music's work. It is essential for independent labels to be able to compete effectively in a very concentrated market. PrideRock Music’s Marketing Committee works on developing marketing and promotional opportunities and access for independent labels and artist. PrideRock Music does this through information, networking, commercial deals and developing new consumer facing platforms such as Internet, TV and Radio. Historically, the major labels have controlled physical distribution of CDs. Yet that barrier to entry will erode as more music is distributed on the internet and mobile phones. Artists can, in theory, use the Internet to bypass record firms, though few have yet done this. The principal reason most have not is that they need marketing and promotion, which the major labels dominate, to reach a wide audience. The major labels have a tight hold on radio, for example, by far the most effective medium for promoting new acts. (Perhaps their lock is too strong: Eliot Spitzer, New York's attorney-general, is investigating whether the companies bribe radio stations to play their music.) Could the internet challenge them on this too? So far, bands have not been launched online. But that could change, and there is already evidence that data derived from the preferences shown on illegal file-sharing networks are being used to help launch acts. Much will depend on whether the major labels choose to address a problem that is just as important as piracy: these days they rarely develop new artists into long-lasting acts, relying instead on short-term hits promoted in mainstream media. That has turned off many potential buyers of new music. In future, using the internet, the industry will be able to appeal directly to customers, bypassing radio, television and big retailers, all of which tend to prefer promoting safe, formulaic acts. But much smaller independent labels and artist-management firms can do the same by using PrideRock Music, offering them a way to challenge the big firms head on. Independent labels are also gunning for the big firms. For one thing, they are fighting to stop further consolidation among the majors because that would make it even harder for the independents themselves to compete for shelf space and airplay. However, the small firms are also optimistic that they can grow at the expense of their big rivals. The majors are cutting back in smaller markets and dropping artists who lack the potential to sell in lots of countries. That leaves a space for the independent label/artist. PrideRock Music will assist them in accomplishing this. Meanwhile, the major labels are trying to plot their move to digital. Making the transition will be tricky. Brick-and-mortar music retailers need to be kept happy despite the fact that they know that online music services threaten to make them obsolete. It is still unclear what a successful business model for selling music online will look like. People are buying many more single tracks than albums so far, which is the reason for PrideRock Music selling per song. Which could mean that the concept of the album will fade. According to The Economist, print edition of the article Music's brighter future “It seems clear that the only way for the majors to stay on top of the music industry into the next decade is to take more risks—both technological and creative—than they have done for a long time.” Many will compare PrideRock Music to Napster with a twist of American Idol. PrideRock Music allows fans to pay-per-song on line for a small fee. Songs purchased on PrideRock Music cannot be downloaded to a computer or burned to CD. Fans can only listen to songs through their computer media player while on the Internet when logged on to PrideRock Music. Each song that a member purchases on PrideRock Music, the artist receives one vote. At the end of the three-month long contest, whichever artist has the most votes wins prizes from PrideRock Music. Then the process starts over again. This contest allows the artist to understand and appreciate the power of marketing, because they will be allowed to attract fans through several avenues to purchase/vote for them on PrideRock Music. PrideRock Music will also serve to be an educational tool to independent artist. It will tell them how to protect their intellectual property through copyrights, from start to finish. If they have not taken the steps to protect each song, PrideRock Music will not allow the artist to show case their music on its site. Artist Membership an anual fee of $199.95 with an opptunity for reduced rate as a reward for Artist referrals. Artist referrals present a reward of $50.00 resulting from the received payment of (1) Artist account at the cost of $199.95 Every year thereafter that said artist renews annual membership here at PrideRock Music you will receive your $50.00 Members here at PrideRock Music not only get to listen to the hottest new rising stars ,but also have the chance to win 1 of 6 Brand New 2007 Cadillac Escalades. (1) Brand New 2007 Cadillac Escalade will be given away every 250,000th download up to 1.5 million downloads. Members can also book their favorite independent artist with their PrideRock Music membership. PrideRock Music is not a management company nor does it claim to be. However, is a tool for the independent artist to promote, build a fan base and sell music. It is the goal for PrideRock Music to become a Music Industry accepted way of tracking the sales of independent artist music as Nielson SoundScan. Some of the biggest users of Napster were college students. There are several reasons for this: College students tend to like music. Colleges and universities have spent lots of money making high-speed Internet access and computers available to students. College students tend to be comfortable with technologies like MP3. College students tend to have little money. PrideRock Music will utilize the audiences of College based print entertainment journals and TV programs such as ZILO. Much like Napster and American Idol, we expect PrideRock Music to be as successful. We are living in a technologically advanced and increasingly globalized world in which everything is connected. In addition, from our research, we anticipate that PrideRock Music will receive some hindrance from within the music industry, as did Napster. Therefore, PrideRock Music will take a grassroots approach in its marketing endeavors. PrideRock Music will initially be promoted via the following ways: Hotmail and Yahoo Groups along with other groups like them Develop promotional items such as t-shirts, caps, towels, etc. Linking with websites that attract independent artist Submitting entries on a number of online message boards Join associations that attract independent music artist Creating a Blog and participating in other blogs Promoted as a Subculture community Create alliance with independent record labels, companies and assiciations such as Stand Against the Recording Industry Association of America and Women's Independent Music Show Create a networking event called PrideRock WEDNESDAY’s and is a chance for independent artist, marketing and promotions staff from independent labels to meet people from the marketing services and media industries Create an advisory board that will make up spirits companies, music print journals, music television programs and independent records labels Set up booths at Music/Entertainment Trade Fairs Create a song writing competition and have the winner to produce the song in PrideRock Music studio Publishing a quarterly newsletter to existing fans/members. The newsletter will solicit referrals, advertise additional artist and new songs and notify readers of current promotions Establishing quarterly sales promotions in May, August, November and February. The May sales promotion will be in honor of Mother’s Day. November will focus on songs drawing attention to year-end festivities. February will highlight love songs involving Valentine’s Day. Create PrideRock Mix tape campaign Identify independent celebrity figure to wear promo matariel in public Ad Campaign (magazines such as Source, Vibe, XXL etc. Outdoor advertising (billboards, bus stops etc.) o Nationwide street team used to promote at retail o Sponsor major events across the country in association with Independent Record labels and associations. Long-term Marketing plans PrideRock Music will create a Business Centre for members offering information on doing business with Artist. Non-artist may join for a small fee this will allow non-artist to promote their services to artist on PrideRock Music. It is designed to facilitate trade between suppliers of all types of services and PrideRock Music members Create an internet based Radio Station and create alliance with Sirus Radio to form a Satellite Radio Station Host PrideRock Music seminars (will create awareness and generate additional revenue) Create a base in the UK and international o The UK independent record sector accounts for a quarter of the UK market and leads the world in terms of music innovation o International is also a vital area of PrideRock Music’s work. Many artist sell over 50% abroad and PrideRock Music’s mandate is to help them export and do business overseas. Independent artist will like PrideRock Music because it is a very inexpensive way for artists to find new fans. Anyone who discovers their music on PrideRock Music can go to their website to find out more about their band, buy downloads, concert tickets, or other stuff. PrideRock Music gives each artist an entirely new way to reach a fan base that they may never even have known existed in the first place. PrideRock Music long-term plan will involve allowing music files bought via subscription services to be transferred from a PC to a portable device. THE COMPETITION PrideRock Music is creating an entirely new way of business for independent artist within the music industry and online. How ever direct and indirect competitors do exist. They are Napster, indy.tv and Apple and its enormously popular iPod. The strength of these competitors lies in the length of time they have been in business and the awareness of their product is well established. TERMS OF SALE PrideRock Music accepts credit cards in the amount of the purchase via PayPal. With growth, the company will establish credit card e-commerce with security encryption to decrease the percentage paid to 3rd party to accept credit cards.