Record label touted to be first to choose USB drive as album format
One thing that I really love about being a hard core music fan is that I can never talk or research about music without touching on technology. Music and technology go hand in hand not only in terms of the way songs are recorded and produced but also in the different media in which music is distributed. Of course, we also talk about technology in terms of re-encoding those grooves (if you’re into old school analog) or binary code (if CDs are used) into actual music.
The distribution of music has entered a new phase with the introduction of digital formats like MP3, AAC, and WMA. with digital music files now escaping the boundaries of the nerd and becoming a universally recognized format, it is only a matter of time before this is used imaginatively into introducing new formats. Take for example the increasingly popular idea of coming out with music in the thumb drive format. The White Stripes have recently done it with their new album Icky Thump. Now an independent record label recently released an announcement that they are now the world’s first record lable to use the USB flash drive format as its official format for releasing albums.
The label, called SUPERFROTHCO, will be releasing its first USB drive album on September. I for one am quite interested how this new format will develop. With flash drives becoming more and more inexpensive, this could actually be the wave of the future. The possibilities of this format are also endless because you can actually insert other types of files in the drive like videos, art works and even lyrics. The USB drive format is going to effectively cover artwork though. We’ll see what the future has in store.
Our first USB Flash Drive release will be the debut album from
painter/jazz musician Jeffrey Scott Holland’s JSH COMBO, a peculiar
combo that weds experimental modern jazz to dixieland, cabaret and
show tunes, and comes out in a whole new realm of sonic territory in
the process. The album will ship on September 1st, 2007 but we’re
already taking pre-orders and sending out review copies to the media.
This album will be available ONLY from Superfrothco and ONLY on the
MP3-player-friendly USB Flash Drive format!All future Superfrothco releases, such as the long-awaited GRILLO THE
CLOWN album, will be released in this format. Back catalog items like
HASIL ADKINS’ final album “Night Life” will be reissued in this format
as well, with bonus material.
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Comments / What do you think?
August 7th, 2007
As a graphic designer of the music industry, musician and lover of innovative technology, I find music distribution via USB flash drive both exciting and daunting. I do miss the tactility of LPs but I also love the idea of a collectible USB flash drive with your favourite new album on it. Now I just gotta go reskill…
August 8th, 2007
Using a new medium of distribution is really interesting and I am curious as to how this will develop in the future. Will people accept this format? or will they find it too strange? Personally, I’m on the fence on this. My biggest fear is that the art of making album artworks might totally disappear if the flashdrive format becomes the de facto standard.
July 3rd, 2008
[...] Music has been released onto the flash drive market for quite sometime which began with one record label. With flash drives coming in all shapes and sizes (and in the most bizarre forms) and with them [...]