Downloaders Pay Back Wilco

April 2, 2004 1:04 PM

Downloaders Pay Back WilcoJust-launched Justafan.org allows fans who downloaded copies of the new Wilco album to donate to the band-selected charity Doctors Without Borders. In less than a day online, with nothing more than word-of-mouth publicity, donations exceeded $1,500.
posted by methree (15 comments total)

It's a lovely story, and Wilco are my favorite band working today, but -- not every act has a fan base that would do this, or even conceive of it.

All recording artists, especially people releasing stuff online, whether actively (like, well, me) or passively (like, um, Wilco), could take a page out of this story and write a piece of their own promotional future.
posted by chicobangs at 1:16 PM on April 2, 2004

Wilco just keep getting cooler and cooler.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:31 PM on April 2, 2004

This is a great precedent that I'd love to see repeated forever more. Although it wouldn't work quite as well for the bands still travelling to their shows in a beat up old VW bus.

Subvert the RIAA!
posted by fenriq at 1:58 PM on April 2, 2004

Awwwww, is there any band cooler than Wilco? I ponied up a few bucks.
posted by mkultra at 2:04 PM on April 2, 2004

This is very cool.

id like to see music go back to the patron system.

money goes from music listeners to music makers... that would be nice.
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 2:13 PM on April 2, 2004

I had already accepted Jeff Tweedy as my personal savior long before this (I think when Being There came out, if it matters), and as someone who has toured plenty in VW & other buses (and in all probability will again, hopefully sooner than later), this kind of operation works fine for me too.

There are problems with the patron system. Good artists will still starve. But for every recording someone downloads, that's someone who is going to give you an honest listen at some point.

Which is all most musicians I know ever really asked of anyone. (If you're a Cristal-only-backstage and 600-thread-count-on-the-bed-at-the-Park-Plaza type, this business model may not work for you. Not to judge, just saying.)
posted by chicobangs at 2:43 PM on April 2, 2004

While this is undisputably the coolest thing ever, Subcity Records, on a similar note, donates a certain percentage of all proceeds from each record to a charity chosen by the artist.
posted by rafter at 2:52 PM on April 2, 2004

While completely admitting this is lame, I just about pooped myself to learn it was out. If anyone knows of a torrent puuleaze email me.

and yes I promise to buy the album when it comes out. there.
posted by dig_duggler at 3:24 PM on April 2, 2004

and donate. so double there.
posted by dig_duggler at 3:30 PM on April 2, 2004

see. SEE!
posted by tsarfan at 4:00 PM on April 2, 2004

one thing about wilco, i suggested this to a musician friend of mine for his band, and he just sort of sighed and got depressed, said he, "...free downloads didn't help wilco sell records once they finally came out, their music is fucking awesome, that is how they sold records."

i'd say its both.
posted by th3ph17 at 4:38 PM on April 2, 2004

dig_duggler - try SoulSeek, I found the whole thing there.
posted by jonson at 7:27 PM on April 2, 2004

SLSK works, for sure, but try finding the studio version of track 12, "Late Greats." Also, the files available for download may not represent the final mix.

*grumbles incoherently about being so obsessive that I cannot listen to the 11 tracks I have without the entire finished album in hand*
posted by hoboynow at 8:49 AM on April 3, 2004

thanks. soulseek was the place. is it just me or is tweedy not singing on all these tracks (jim o'rourke's fingerprints seem to be all over it)?
posted by dig_duggler at 10:46 AM on April 3, 2004

Derek Phillips of Glorious Noise interviews the guys behind Just A Fan.

Also, who plays what on A Ghost Is Born (via the band's official site).
posted by elvissinatra at 4:50 AM on April 5, 2004