Saturday, August 05, 2006

ANBERLIN WANTS YOU TO BE PART OF THEIR ALBUM

And the award for "Band Who Really Gets That Their Fans Are Important" 2006 goes to... Anberlin.

I've been a fan of Anberlin for a while now, especially since the launch of their second album. I love their music. I love their lyrics. They're just fun to rock out to. If you haven't yet, I strongly urge you to go pick up a copy of Never Take Friendship Personal. With songs like "A Day Late" and "Paperthin Hymn," you just can't go wrong.

But now they've gone and topped themselves.

They're working on their third studio album, and in order to get fans pumped up for it, they want all of us to be part of the process. Here's how it goes:

(1.) You visit the Anberlin message board.

(2.) You register for an account, no charge.

(3.) You send a private message with your telephone number to username anberlinstudio. (NOTE: For your own safety and security, don't post your telephone number to the main message board. Only post it in the private message. DUH!)

(4.) The boys from Anberlin call you up, bounce some lyrics, melodies, song titles, or whatever off of you, ask you what you think, and listen to what you have to say about it.

Genius. Pure genius. Let the fans make the album. What a novel concept! These guys are no small potatoes, either. Their label, Tooth & Nail, which has always been very consumer-friendly and interactive, is a rather choice label, with distribution handled by EMI. So they're no indie band. And this time, they're letting YOU call the shots.

Mack, Tricia, do y'all think maybe some of these ideas are starting to sink in out there?

And, just in case you haven't been introduced to Anberlin's music before, here's a video of their latest single, "Paperthin Hymn."

2 Comments:

At 9:50 AM, Blogger Mack Collier said...

I think in terms of involving their fans in the creation process, and giving them a stake in the ownership of the CD, then yeah it's a great idea. And if they actually go through and call each and every person that gives them their number, that's huge.

I just don't know that I would want my favorite band listening to me when it comes to lyrics, beats, whatever. Add in a few thousand people like me, and I would worry that their sound and style could get diluted.

But in terms of community-empowerment and involvement, yeah it's a great idea, and again, if they actually call everyone, and don't end up using recorded messages or something, it will generate a lot of internet buzz.

 
At 4:23 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's a brilliant idea! And i LOVE Anberlin, they're one of the few bands that i always like. Their CD's are always worth buying because they don't just have one or two good songs - they're ALL good. :)

 

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