An artist who isn’t evil

Sufjan StevensI’m currently listening to one of Sufjan Stevens’ recently-released Christmas CDs. Stevens is a popular musician among the college set and seems to enjoy moderate financial success. I hold him up as an example of someone who isn’t “evil”. That may sound like faint praise, but “evil” has lately come to refer to businesses and individuals who market themselves in such a way as to take undue advantage of their customers.

Sufjan Stevens and his record company, Asthmatic Kitty (which he apparently seems to own) are wonderful examples of marketing in fair and sensible ways. Stevens’ Christmas set costs $15.99 at ITunes (which I believe is $3 than when it debuted a few weeks ago). If you buy the hard copy, there is tremendous added value - extensive liner notes, Christmas art, a comic-book, a fictional story and even some Christmas stickers. Amazon sells it for $24.99 (which is $5 more than when I bought a copy at the end of November). The cheapest place to get the CDs themselves is at Sufjan’s own web site, where it sells for $19. His other CDs sell for $14.99 at Amazon and $10 at Asthmatic Kitty (the same as the ITunes download price).
We went to a Sufjan Stevens concert in Nashville on September 11. Most artists really stick it to their fans at concerts with high-priced shirts and CDs, but Sufjan’s products were exactly the same price at the show as on his site.

Sufjan Stevens has found a time-honored way to win loyal fans - produce great music, sell it at a fair price, and add value for those who buy the hard copies. May his numbers increase.

December 16, 2006 · Filed Under Music

Comments

Leave a Reply