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Offspring's Holland Explains Controversal Online Move Will the band's million-dollar ideal beat downloaders to the punch? SoCal punk band Offspring said on Friday (9/15) it will give away its new album on the Internet, striking a sour note with its label group, Sony Music Even though the RIAA, which represents all the major labels, is involved in the much-publicized lawsuit with Napster, in which they accuse the company of promoting online piracy, The Offspring thinks proper use of the Internet can help promote and market its release. The Offspring's strategy directly contradicts the recording industry's argument that Napster's technology is hurting sales by enabling fans to get music for free. "The reality is that this album is going to end up on the Internet whether we want it to or not," said Offspring singer Dexter Holland. "So we thought, ‘Why don't we just do it ourselves?' We're not afraid of the Internet. We think it's a very cool way to reach our fans." While Sony Music, distributors of the band's Columbia Records label, reportedly asked The Offspring to cancel the giveaway, the group refused and plans to make its new album, "Conspiracy of One," availableon its Web site, offspring.com, a month before its traditional release on 11/14. The whole album will be posted by late October, while "Original Prankster," a single from the new CD, will be available for downloading in the unsecured MP3 format on Friday (9/29), when the Offspring launches a contest giving fans a chance to win $1 million by downloading the single and registering their e-mail address with the band. The winner will be announced live on MTV on 11/14, which, in case you skipped the preceding paragraph is the album's release date. In a statement, Sony said: "While the band has come up with a million-dollar idea for their fans and we're excited about the contest, we have very real concerns when it comes to unsecured downloading of music and piracy on the Internet. We're hopeful that we can arrive at a method that will protect everyone's rights and still maintain the integrity of the band's idea." In his first interview since the plan to buck the system was revealed, Offspring's Dexter Holland faces off with hitsdailydouble's Marc "Salot" Pollack about the controversial marketing/promotion plan, its possible effects on the industry as a whole and the band's future. It is obvious that you can't stop an album or songs from appearing on Napster, no matter how hard you try. But why make it easier? Given the pending lawsuits against Napster and the current focus on copyright protection, do you consider The Offspring to almost be aiding and abetting with this action? Are you helping legitimize what many consider to be against the law? The Offspring have been very supportive of Napster from its very inception. Should the major labels, including your own, incorporate file-sharing in their business plans? It looks really bad for Napster right now, as the courts have been siding with the traditional music business. What will you do if the service is shut down? Will you continue to offer the album free on your site or elsewhere? By registering all your fans - a key part of this promotion - are you thinking of eventually selling your work directly to them? Do you care that Sony is awfully pissed about this move? Are you bucking Sony's public resistance in hopes of getting off the label or maybe renegotiating your deal? When you were asked not to do the promotion, what was your reaction? By giving stuff away, what do you expect to get out of this besides the obvious publicity? What is the upside in giving away $1 million? How will this promotion drive more people to retail? Why will they buy the new record when they can get it for free? By Marcus Pollac, from Hits Daily Double - September 18, 2000 |