This essay is not simply an act of admiration, where I go on and on about how Spoon is my favorite band and how I have a secret man crush on Britt Daniel (AKA Drake Tungsten for those of you in the know). I’m not going to gush and ooh and go on about how good all of their songs are or try to convince you how well they stand up when compared to the likes of The Beatles and the Stones and other standards by which all are measured. No. This is an educational piece that I believe all struggling, aspiring and ambitious indie artists should read, take heed of, and consider applying to their own strategies and efforts. Spoon is an indie music case study and their success supports my thesis on The Art of Frequency.
Good things come to those who wait
When most people think of Spoon these days, they talk about their records, Gimme Fiction and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga…as if Spoon is a newer band that recently took the music industry by storm. Well guess what? Spoon formed back when I was a chubby and relatively nerdy seventeen year-old, attending South Albany High School. That’s right, Spoon formed in 1993, founded by lead singer/guitarist Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno.
Spoon has been a band for nearly 16 years and they’ve put out eleven records so far, not including side projects and solo endeavors. So for you over ambitious artists out there, who’ve had your band going strong for five, six or maybe seven years and are wondering when you’re ever going to catch a break… Be patient. Slow and steady wins the race.
One hit wonders and super-trendy bands are a dime a dozen. You can probably think of 100 or more yourself if you actually take time to write them down. And if that’s what you’re aiming for (super-trendy, here today, gone tomorrow music), more power to you. There’s plenty of happy and wealthy artists who have traveled that path quite well. But that’s not the audience I’m aiming for with this essay. On the contrary…those who can hone their talent into something not only fitting with current demands for hip sounds and prevailing trends, but can create something with a timeless element that can adapt, grow and end up setting the trends…that’s who I’m talking to. Like them or not, consider The Beatles and examine their discography. Look at how they adapted, grew and eventually paced the music world for the better part of 10 years. The same can be said for Miles Davis in Jazz, Madonna in Pop and The Rolling Stones, U2 and others in Rock. Do you have any idea how many records each of these artists released? Seriously… The Beatles + Miles Davis + Madonna + The Rolling Stones + U2 = More than 375 records released. (not counting singles, 45s, compilations, etc).
The Art of Frequency
If there is one key strategy that I could instill in the minds of every burgeoning indie artist I encounter, it is to put out new music as frequent and as quickly as you can. I simply cannot belabor this point enough. You may look at Spoon’s fifteen years as a band and their eleven records and naively conclude that they’re not putting out music at a grand pace. Personally, I believe that Spoon’s frequency of releasing new music is the single most important strategy component contributing to their success. Spoon puts out a $%&*-ton of new music. Now it may not all be released in the traditional vehicle of EPs and LPs…but trust me, they’re putting out new music all the time. And here’s what they do:
- Release traditional full length records
- Release a healthy dose of EPs and singles, usually in-between releasing full-lengths
- Leak demos. Example: You’ve Got Yr. Cherry Bomb (see below)
- Actually release demos! Example: I Summon You
- Remixes. Example: Don’t You Evah EP
- Britt works on solo material and releases solo music occasionally (see below)
- They do a ton of in-studio and live sessions that are all released. Example: Daytrotter sessions
- They allow (sometimes encourage) fans to record their live shows, sometimes giving fans a line from the board.
- They do live video sessions, like this one on Spinner.com’s The Interface:
It truly is amazing how much material Spoon puts out through various vehicles, strategies and tactics. And there’s nothing better for an uber-fan, than getting demos, rarities, remixes and seven different versions of their favorite song.
If you want to grow a fan base and build traction in the market place, put out new music as frequently and as quickly as you can! Here’s a little refresher course on what Spoon has done, clearly showing how important it is to this band to release new music as often as they can, especially over the past couple of years:
Mountain to Sound [1997 Soft Effects EP]
I Didn’t Come Here to Die [2000 Love Ways EP]
Everything Hits At Once [2001 - Girls Can Tell]
The Way We Get By [2002 - Kill the Moonlight]
I Summon You (Demo) [2005 - Gimme Fiction]
Bring it on Home to Me (Sam Cooke Cover) [2007 Comp CD - Britt Daniel]
You Got Yr Cherry Bomb (Demo) [2007 Unreleased Demo]
Don’t Make Me a Target [2007 - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga]
Don’t You Evah (Ted Leo Remix) [2008 Don't You Evah EP]
Peace Like a River (Paul Simon Cover) [June 2008 - Live on Daytrotter]
The Ghost of You Lingers [June 2008 - Live on Daytrotter]
Writing in Reverse (Live Demo) [September 2008 - Unreleased Live Demo]
And this is only a small glimpse of how often Spoon puts out new music. For a better list, check out their discography and singles released here. Not to mention, Britt just rolled out some new solo material at MusicFest NW in Portland, Oregon (also where Britt resides most of the time). You can check that out at Stereogum.com.
And while this Spoon example is sort of a “micro” version of my thesis, being they’re an indie act (sort of – Spoon is on monster indie label, Matador) and all… I’d like to also prove this strategy true using the best all-time example of this “Art of Frequency” method: The Beatles.
As my dear friend, Johnny Clay, of The Dimes likes to remind me, The Beatles own the “Art of Frequency” strategy and have mastered it better than anyone in the history of humankind. To prove this, let me show you the new music they released over about seven years:
EPs (UK Releases):
Twist And Shout 1963
The Beatles’ Hits 1963
The Beatles No. 1 1963
All My Loving 1964
Long Tall Sally 1964
Extracts From the Film A Hard Day’s Night 1964
Extracts From the Album A Hard Day’s Night 1964
Beatles For Sale 1965
Beatles For Sale No. 2 1965
The Beatles Million Sellers 1965
Yesterday 1966
Nowhere Man 1966
Magical Mystery Tour (2 EP set) 1967
Full Lengths (UK Releases):
Please Please Me 1963
With The Beatles 1963
A Hard Day’s Night 1964
Beatles For Sale 1964
Help! 1965
Rubber Soul 1965
Revolver 1966
A Collection of Beatles Oldies 1966
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967
Magical Mystery Tour 1967
The Beatles (The White Album) 1968 (2 disc)
Yellow Submarine 1969
Abbey Road 1969
Let It Be 1970
And that’s not all… You see, The Beatles didn’t mess around, nor did they need a formal album, EP or LP, to put out music. Whenever they had a good song that was ready to go, they’d release it all by itself as a single. Often times it would appear on a forthcoming album…sometimes not. But the key here is that they released new music ALL THE TIME. Here’s the singles they put out:
Singes and 45s:
Love Me Do (w/ P.S. I Love You) 1962
Please Please Me (w/ Ask Me Why) 1963
From Me To You (w/ Thank You Girl) 1963
She Loves You (w/ I’ll Get You) 1963
I Want To Hold Your Hand (w/ This Boy) 1963
Can’t Buy Me Love (w/ You Can’t Do That) 1964
A Hard Day’s Night (w/ Things We Said Today) 1964
I Feel Fine (w/ She’s A Woman) 1964
Ticket To Ride (w/ Yes It Is) 1965
Help! (w/ I’m Down) 1965
We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper 1965
Paperback Writer (w/ Rain) 1966
Yellow Submarine (w/ Eleanor Rigby) 1966
Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever 1967
All You Need is Love (w/ Baby You’re A Rich Man) 1967
Hello Goodbye (w/ I Am The Walrus) 1967
Lady Madonna (w/ The Inner Light) 1968
Hey Jude (w/ Revolution) 1968
Get Back (w/ Don’t Let Me Down) 1968
The Ballad Of John And Yoko (w/ Old Brown Shoe) 1969
Something/Come Together 1969
Let It Be (w/ You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) 1970
Not bad for about seven years worth of work, huh?
Now in defense of songwriters everywhere, I would be remiss if I didn’t speak to the fact that The Beatles essentially had all four members writing songs for the band – which is exceptional, if not unheard of in today’s day and age. If The Beatles only had one member bringing nearly all of the material to the table, as most bands I know have as common practice, you could safely take about half of the above songs, EPs, LPs, etc away. But even then, I think The Beatles would still put out more new music, more often than anyone I know… Especially considering that every record they released went to #1. Truly, what The Beatles accomplished in the music industry makes the Lance Armstrong, Michael Phelps, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods of the world seem like amateurs. Nothing compares. Not even close.
Conclusion
I’ve provided two real-life examples of how two different bands have succeeded (understatement) by mastering the strategy/concept of putting out new music at an extremely high rate of frequency. And as the marketplace continues to get more and more competitive and more and more saturated, the “Art of Frequency” is becoming increasingly valuable for indie artists.
Just think of how many popular artists there are out there in the marketplace right now. With so much new music and so many options for consumers to choose from, if you don’t continually put out new material and keep the attention of your fan base, they will quickly forget about you and move on the latest thing.
So many bands make the mistake of hiding out in the studio for 6 months to a year, taking each project so seriously, trying to make sure that their music and statement and work is perfect. They don’t play shows or tour or release any new music for the better part of a year or more… And before you know it, most of their fan base has moved on and the band has to spend the next year or more just regaining the momentum they once had.
The industry has changed too much to reward these kinds of methods. Even more important, consumers have changed…and with so many options for new music being so readily available, consumers simply don’t need you (or want you) as much as they used to. And the longer you sit there reading this, scratching your head trying to figure this out, the longer it’s going to take you to reconnect with your fans. Stop thinking and start putting out new music as frequent as you can.
I’ll stop here and we can call this essay “Part 1.” In Part 2, I’ll translate these theories and strategies into more practical terms that artists and bands alike can actually put to use…if you want to.
It should be noted that my old carpool partner, Michael “Poopie Pants” Grote (pronounced “Groat-tee” like, “ooh, that’s groatie!”) first told me about Spoon about two or three years ago while carpooling.
Unfortunately, he falsely accused me of stealing his copy of Gimme Fiction and won’t ever let me off the hook for it. Also, for some reason, he feels I’ve slighted him, by not giving him his due credit for introducing me to Spoon.
Well here ya go Mike… Thanks for telling me about Spoon. You’re great.
The difference is that the Beatles released alot of well written , legendarily good songs. Alot of bands may be releasing alot of music but its not well written , or legendary. Its like they just write stuff to release something, anything. I’ll take quality of over quantity anyday.
If your fans dont have the attention span to care that you wrote a really great record and are going to forget about you so they can be a fan of a band that keeps shelling out ear candy that is average on a constant basis well then they arent really fans, They’re just trendoid zombies.
Look at Mazzy Star, they have hardly released any records yet what they have is still better than most average bands that release 10 albums and still dont have one song as good as Fade Into You , or Blue Light.
If a band can write one hit after another like the Beatles for 5 years straight, then yeah release like crazy. But If you cant, take the time to learn how to get better at writing music people will care about for the long term, songs that will be remembered. Or just go punk and release 50 2 minute songs every 3 months and don’t worry about songs because people will just go to your shows to collect all your stuff, get drunk and push eachother around until they outgrow you and the next crop of kids pop up to replace you.