Who Cares About Daft Punk?
Everyone, actually. But not why you think.
Let’s talk about hype. Entertainment-wise, hype is a general measure of how twitchingly excited the public is to receive a new piece of art: one is a state of general apathy and borderline disgust; at ten, people are pissing their pants at the thought of hearing the new masterpiece. Often the pre-release hyping can singlehandedly determine the sales, so it’s in the artist’s (and publicity companies’) best interests to ratchet that hype up as high as it can go.
Before last Monday, the hype for Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories was pushing eleven. The promotion for the French duo’s first album in eight years had been constructed, it seemed,to a tee: the album was announced in January, slated for May; a series of brief trailers quietly snuck themselves into Saturday Night Live and Coachella in March; the full version of “Get Lucky” premiered in April to give fans a taste, which only made them that much hungrier for its release on May 21st.
Then May 13th arrived. In quick succession the entire album was leaked, then became streamable on iTunes. Just like that, it was out and available; only (legally) streaming, of course, but, really, who needs more than that option to pass judgment? Reviews official and otherwise crashed onto the internet as everyone scrambled to get his two cents in first, all a week before the actual album could be purchased. What happened to all the build-up? Where’s the hype?
Daft Punk is not the first band to stream its newest offering on the internet pre-release; however, they are arguably the most influential band to do so yet, as well as the most surprising. This album was Daft Punk’s return to the world stage after almost a decade out of the limelight. It seems strange that they’d knock the wind out of their own sails…or does it?
Let me answer myself: no, it doesn’t. The release, and method of release, of Random Access Memories is just the newest marker that the relationship between artist and audience is shifting.
Daft Punk has always prided itself on being ahead of the curve, whatever said curve may be. We saw it with Homework, with their live shows, with the fancy android helms. Until recently the norm was for artists to release maybe a song or two from an upcoming album, short snippets by which we listeners were supposed to judge its worthiness. But all of a sudden bands are releasing their entire albums, by themselves or through some streaming service, for us to listen to and decide. The power balance, in other words, has changed. No longer is it up to artists to convince us to buy their work. Consumers are given a chance to choose for themselves whether or not it’s worth it.
The spread of pre-release album streaming, this new audio pro bono, is something entertainers and entertained alike should embrace. For one thing, it makes promoting that much easier for artists. If everyone can listen to an album, artists don’t need to try and shove one or two singles down our throats; instead, those who listen early will do the advertising for them. And to the monolithic companies, nightly haunted by ghoulish dreams of royalty-thieving pirates, rest easy: streaming opens up a legal option for early listeners and helps stave off piracy. It’s wins across the board.
You can buy Random Access Memories today wherever good music is sold. For many of you reading, this will not be your first listen, and your opinion based on what you’ve already heard will no doubt heavily influence whether or not you pick up the album for keepsies. Some may lament the disappearance of the “surprise” factor of big releases of the past, but moving forward, this new listen-before-you-buy system gives more power to the consumer.
And I can get hyped for that.
