Another great case study to check out is The Dimes. Now, of course I’m biased, because I manage them and have been preaching this philosophy of frequency for the past three years… But seriously, they’re doing it quite well, and have proved to catch the interest of fans, compelling many of them to keep tabs on the band’s blog. The Dimes regularly post demos on the blog – many of which the lead guy, Johnny Clay, simply makes in his home studio/attic. It’s easy, low-cost, and a great way to keep up the frequency effect.

Please let me know if you ever want to chat about more strategies like this. It really is fun stuff, when you really get into it.

I’m totally on board with the Reznor means to record and produce – and what’s incredible is that those programs & equipment are so affordable, so there’s no excuse if you just have the discipline to work, save up, and learn them.

You made a great point about releasing demos, especially to current fans. I think the idea of releasing cover songs is also a good idea (you listed Colin Meloy’s Morrissey album) to keep that buzz machine going…

And by the way, thanks for a thought-provoking (and motivational) entry.

You are right that most people lack the talent and resources to put out music as frequently and as easily as Trent Reznor. It’s his model however, that I believe is worthwhile to examine closely. He keeps it simple and leverages innovative, low-cost technology to record, mix and digitally release new music – doing virtually all of it himself. Essentially, he’s removed the old, expensive industry processes and politics, taking the reins to assume complete control. I love it. Artists who can do this are at a significant advantage.

Regarding PR – you don’t need to pay for a press campaign for everything you release. Bon Iver is a good case study for this. He essentially compiled a list of music blogs and sent them his music…which built the momentum and awareness he needed to create a buzz and ultimately boost his success.

Similarly, artists (or their managers/teams) can easily utilize opportunities born of Web 2.0 to get their music out to the masses, at relatively little cost. Trends reveal that music fans are discovering new music more from blogs, social networks and word of mouth than older mediums, like print, TV and radio. Artists should regularly send their singles, demos, EPs, videos, etc. to as many key influencers as possible. This is easy and very inexpensive to do. Most of all – it’s effective.

A full-fledged national press campaign is still appropriate for an artist’s bigger, more important releases, like a full-length or a much anticipated group of songs. However, even the focus of a national campaign should look different today than it did three years ago. A comprehensive online strategy and innovative Web/PR 2.0 tactics should be at the core of any such campaign.

To your last point – The Decemberists put out a ton of good music before Colin was able to transition into being a full-time musician. Being “signed or unsigned” is irrelevant to me. Quitting your day job because the music creates enough income to live on is the real key. And I assure you that it wasn’t until their latter days at Kill Rock Stars that Colin Meloy finally made that jump.

You also raise a good point that this “art of frequency” model will only work for “prolific” songwriters. Heck, even The Beatles had two prolific songwriters (two of the best ever), plus two others that weren’t so bad. I doubt anyone will ever be able to do what they did again – release so many exceptional songs with an equally exceptional rate of frequency.

In any event, yes – prolific songwriters are who I’m preaching to. This strategy won’t work if you’re average…or weak.

I love the idea of recording and releasing tons of singles and EPs instead of waiting and releasing one LP every couple of years. But just because an artist like Trent Reznor has the skill to write, record and release 3 albums at once doesn’t mean that most artist can or should work that way. The best album of the year? Santogold. It took her years to finish it and every song is awesome.

There are couple more reasons this won’t always work. One: PR. If you want to hire a PR firm to help get exposure, are you going burn $2,000 – $3,000 every time you have a single?? Next argument: the up & coming artists who have day jobs and are funding themselves… probably most of your readers. I’m not saying you have to spend tons of money to record & mix just to be able to be heard – there are tons of examples to the contrary – but when you’re a signed and/or established artist, you have more time to write, more money to record, and more people to listen when you do put out those singles. I completely agree that you have to have a good work ethic and stop making excuses if you want to truly succeed as a musician – but none of these examples were unsigned artists while they were releasing music.

I think “frequency in release” is a great strategy for prolific writers who have someone to edit down what finally gets released – it’s also an awesome goal once you are established and/or signed. But it’s definitely not for everyone.

By the way – thanks for telling me about The Decemberists artwork debate. I’d be curious to know how much of the debate is organic and how much of it was more of a debate by design. My internal PR spider senses tell me that a brilliant publicist comes up with some of these things… And if not, they should be!

Sometimes progress and regress go hand in hand, I suppose.