TMBG Street Team Mailing List Archive/2004-09-17

News From John Flansburgh

Big news! John Flansburgh gave me this newsletter/press release specifically written and tailored to be sent out to TEAM TMBG. He asked me, and I quote, to have the team "spread the news everywhere, in their wacky, viral way".

So, you've got your instructions. Read it, digest the information, and put it up on your websites, bulletin board posts, emails, and mimeographed broadsheets.

But Don't forget about last week's mission! The Spine Hits The Road hasn't budged at iTunes, so email that link around, and if you use iTunes, make an iMix! And don't forget to spread the word about No! at cdbaby.com

Send everyone to this link: TMBG on iTunes
and this one: TMBG on CD Baby

Keep up the good work,

Jenn

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS CREATE ARTIST OWNED AND OPERATED DOWNLOAD SITE AT THEYMIGHTBEGIANTS.COM Also TMBG INK BIG DEALS WITH SIMON AND SCHUSTER AND DISNEY SOUND

In a move currently uncharted in the electronic downloading game, Brooklyn alt. rock legends They Might Be Giants have created their own artist owned and operated downloading site.

TheyMightBeGiants.com offers 99 cent downloads, and exclusive bundles of TMBG albums prorated for $10, along with exclusive songs only available online. TMBG enjoy a unique spot as one of the most downloaded bands online, often popping into top ten download lists on Soundscan thanks to heavy traffic through iTunes and other corporate download sites.

The site's unique "artist owned" status clears up many ethical issues for users. Guitarist John Flansburgh explains, "Audience habits are changing quickly, especially online. We find their comfort level with dealing directly with the band's site is actually greater than through a lot of on-line stores. Our fans don't need a filter, and respect the value of our effort. To be honest, we love having our CDs distributed through the big guys (note: Rounder/Universal distributes TMBG label Idlewild in brick and mortar stores). We couldn't do it without them, but we'd rather handle the digital side ourselves. The TMBG download site seems like a pretty natural solution for bands trying to deal with the current web sprawl. I think TheyMightBeGiants.com is a pretty good model for the future."

In another move breaking away from industry practice, TMBG's MP3s are free of encoding gimmicks and electronic watermarks. They can be transferred from computer to computer effortlessly. The MP3s on the TMBG download site are mastered in extraordinary fidelity (far superior to even last year's technology).

SONGS ABOUT ROCK CLUBS

The band also posts live shows from their "Spine Hits The Highway" Tour. These shows often include "venue songs" written specifically for the theater or club the band is playing in. The new wave inspired "Richards on Richards," named after the Vancouver club, which is already an Internet favorite, with over 200,000 free downloads from TMBG's site in the first week.

TMBG INK BIG DEALS WITH SIMON AND SCHUSTER AND DISNEY SOUND

TMBG have hardly given up on the non-electronic world. Following up on the enormous success of their kids' album, "No!" TMBG recently completed their first DVD project "Here Come the ABCs" for Disney Sound in conjunction with the Giants' own imprint Idlewild. "Creating the DVD was an ideal scenario for us, and the experience was quite different than what one might expect. Disney Sound guaranteed complete creative control up front on both the music and the visual components on the disc. John and I created our visual team from many artists within our community of creative friends. There were no conference calls with strangers-no consultants. I have to give props to Disney Sound for letting us be our natural selves. Disney Sound is doing things in a new and very artist-oriented way. This is hardly our first major label relationship, or the first time we've worked with Disney, but making this DVD has been an amazing experience," says John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants. Look for a winter release.

TMBG is also back with prestigious publishers Simon and Schuster for two more picture book-and-CD sets following their recent "Bed, Bed, Bed" collaboration with fine artist Marcel Dzama in 2003. The band will start recording the music for their next S&S project this winter. It's too soon to announce the titles, and the visual artist has yet to be decided, but the band assures us the project will be "darker and more Edwardian." Officially it's a project for children, but "for older, more Edwardian kids."