Web-Only Album Wins Grammy

blamanj writes "Jazz artist Maria Schneider won a Grammy last night for her album 'Concert in the Garden.' What makes this unusual, according to CNET, is that she might be the first artist ever to win a Grammy for an album distributed solely on the Web. None of the sales were in record stores, and the album was financed through Artist Share."

Comments

To be fair...

[lpangelrob2]

To be fair, I've heard of Maria Schneider, and I in general have no ear for music (or the next best music great/talent) at all... I know she is well known in the jazz subculture... this is jazz, it thrives in the underground... and Maria Schneider was well-known long before her Grammy-winning record. Oh, and people that admire jazz tend not to care a lick for the RIAA.

Still, a good sign.

Re: that's nice

[Reignking]

Ah, but the significance is that the Grammys are based strictly on sales. Whoever sells the most albums gets a Grammy, period.

Not according to their web site, where it basically states the the awards are based on a multi-tiered voting process.

Re:Just curious...

[porcupine8]

The artist has no label. The album was self-financed, and she managed to recoup her expenses with web sales.

I remember her from an NPR piece

[broohaha]

She was mentioned in a 3-part piece on NPR's Morning Edition titled "Paying for Music in the Internet Age".

She's interviewed in part 1 of the series which was aired on the 15th of September [clip length: 5' 42"]. Odd, though, that clip one is the middle link among the three.

Maria Schneider is a jazz goddess!

[hot_wasabi]

I'm a jazz sax player, and have been a big fan of Maria Schneider for several years. She has been creating some of the most sophisticated and musically interesting big band music around since her first album in 1995 (Evanescence, which was also nominated for two Grammys). She has 3 or 4 other albums, and most have received Grammy nominations. She has been regularly winning Down Beat reader & critics polls since 1994. Schneider is the heir apparent to her mentor, the late Gil Evans, who's music includes the famous Miles Davis collaborations Birth of the Cool, Porgy & Bess and Sketches of Spain. Her music is very accessible, though she's explores complex meters, harmonies, textures, and timbres. Her pieces tell a story, and often make reference to visual images. I bought her latest album over the web a few months ago. It was something like $9.99 for 128kbps, $14.99 for 320kbps. It's an excellent album, but I still think that Evanesence is her best effort so far. By all means check out her band live if you ever have the opportunity. She always has some of the best jazz musicians in NYC in her group. Evanescence (amazon.com) Concert in the Garden review (allaboutjazz.com) And, she's a babe! -Hot Wasabi over & out

Patent pending business model

[yelvington]

ArtistShare has a patent application that would cover its business model:

The present invention is directed to a system and method for raising financing and/or revenue by artist for a project, where the project may be a creative work of the artist. The method including registering, by at least one artist, with a centralized database, at least one or more projects, offering, by the at least one artist, an entitlement related to the artist in exchange for capital for the project of the artist. The method and system may also include searching, by an interested party, the centralized database, for the least one artist, registering, by the interested party, with the centralized database and accepting the offer by the interested party for the entitlement related to the project. The capital may then be forwarded to the artist and the entitlement provided to the interested party.