[情報]Die-Hard Fans Follow Iron Maiden Into …
紐約時報
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/business/media/06maiden.html?_r=1
September 5, 2010
Die-Hard Fans Follow Iron Maiden Into the Digital Age
By ERIC PFANNER
PARIS — Heavy metal fans revel in their image as outcasts. For the music
industry, however, followers of the British metal band Iron Maiden have
become model citizens.
As music sales plunge and record companies face the future with angst,
so-called Maiden heads are still flocking to record stores. Like the band’s
zombie mascot, Eddie the Head, Iron Maiden refuses to die, and its continued
vitality may offer the troubled music industry some tips on survival.
Iron Maiden’s 15th studio album, “The Final Frontier,” shot straight to
the top of Billboard magazine’s European album chart when it was released in
late August and held that spot for a second week. The record also made its
debut at No. 1 in other countries from Saudi Arabia to Japan, giving a
much-needed lift to EMI Music, which owns the international rights. In the
United States, where it was released by Universal Music Enterprises, “The
Final Frontier” opened at No. 4.
By the end of last week, more than 800,000 copies of “The Final Frontier”
had been shipped to retailers around the world, said Rod Smallwood, Iron
Maiden’s longtime manager. That is a far cry from the 12 million-plus sales
of Lady Gaga’s first album, “The Fame.” But Iron Maiden has a longevity
that many pop acts can only envy; in its 30-year career, the band has sold
about 85 million records.
“A lot of bands could learn a lot from Maiden,” Mr. Smallwood said. “
Maiden is essentially about the relationship with the fans, and nothing comes
between that. They don’t want to be rock stars. They just enjoy playing for
the fans.”
The six members of Iron Maiden, who are all in their 50s, are not the only
veteran metalheads still on the road and in the studio. Bands like Metallica
are also going strong, and hard rockers like AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses have
also found renewed success.
“In its tribal image and extreme parameters, metal offers a complete home
for those who follow it in a way that pop, hip-hop or any other genre does
not,” said Joel McIver, a London-based writer who is the author of “Justice
for All: The Truth About Metallica,” and other books about heavy metal.
A close connection to fans, reinforced by a relentless touring schedule, has
been a necessity for the band since its early days, when the music industry’
s main marketing tool, radio airplay, was largely off limits to Iron Maiden.
Its songs were too long and too loud to fit conventional radio formulas, and
some Christian parents’ groups protested that they were laced with Satanic
messages — a charge that the group has always denied.
A lack of radio exposure may have created challenges, but these prepared Iron
Maiden for the digital era, when the industry’s traditional business model
has broken down. Now, a hot radio single is more likely to send listeners to
the Internet in search of a free, pirated copy than into the record stores.
Because Iron Maiden’s songs do not fit the mold of a radio single — three
of them, on the newest release, are more than nine minutes long — the band
does not suffer as much from this problem.
Even as “The Final Frontier” hit the top of the charts last month, digital
tracking services showed only small levels of illegal downloading of the
album, said David Kassler, chief operating officer of EMI for Europe.
“You’d expect some people to be pirating, but they don’t,” Mr. Kassler
said. “They want the physical album. They love the artwork, the lyrics. It’
s something they want to show their friends and family.”
Digital sales of “The Final Frontier” are low, probably accounting for only
10 percent to 15 percent of its overall sales in the United States, Mr.
Smallwood said. Over all, digital sales account for close to half of the U.S.
recorded music market.
Yet Iron Maiden is no analog-era anachronism, Mr. Smallwood insisted. The
lack of radio airplay and a reliance on word of mouth prepared the band well
for the nuances of digital marketing, he said.
“When the Internet came in, we were probably one of the first to understand
the potential,” he said.
Before the release of the album, Iron Maiden revamped its Web site, created a
Facebook page and offered a free digital single, “El Dorado,” for fans to
download. There is even a free “Final Frontier” video game.
To encourage sales of records, T-shirts and other goods linked to “The Final
Frontier,” EMI has set up special Iron Maiden sections in European record
stores like HMV, Media Markt and FNAC.
Sales of such merchandise can account for more than 20 percent of a record
label’s earnings from a band, Mr. Kassler said, though he did not provide
specific figures for Iron Maiden.
Despite these efforts, it seems unlikely that Iron Maiden will regain the
sales success of the 1980s, when a record like “The Number of the Beast”
sold 14 million copies. Because fans are so loyal, they tend to snap up
releases quickly, but sales tail off after a few weeks.
Still, Mr. McIver, the writer, said there were plenty of lessons for the
music industry in Iron Maiden’s continued success: “Invest in the long
term. Apply an image. Give the fans what they want. Tour and keep touring.
Play the festival circuit. Embrace new technology. Be innovative. Be honest.
Be original. Write good songs.”
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ＵＰ ＴＨＥ ＩＲＯＮＳ！
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I don't need to worry 'bout tomorrow
Ain't anticipating what's to come
And I don't need to worry 'bout the things I have not done
Long as I got rock and roll I'm forever young
Long as I got rock and roll I'm forever young
--
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