Kolla in denna videon där Tom och hela Angels & Airwaves pratar om Modlife.
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Tom berättar lite om den “nya” musikplattformen som han skapat. Från MSNBC.
He’s a rock star and a businessman. And what Tom DeLonge is doing in Carlsbad could make a lot of the major music labels nervous.
DeLonge, 35, is best known as the lead singer of the pop-punk band “Blink 182.” But he also fronts the alternative rock band “Angels and Airwaves.” Last year, “Angels and Airwaves” decided to strike out one their own without the support of a label. They not only used their own money to record their new album “Love,” they also released it on their own, exclusively as a download and for free.
“Giving away the record for free is not because we are dumb,” said DeLonge. “It’s because we are trying to build the business on all these different levels.” “Everyone is not making money selling records,” adds bassist Matt Wachter. “We needed to find other ways to keep this going and to make money.”
Just how do “Angels and Airwaves” plan on making money in a recording industry that has seen record sales cut in half the past decade? The key, the band says is their website called “Modlife.” “The dream was with “Angels and Airwaves” is that we would have a platform on our website that would not only protect all the content, it would self-market, self-distribute it,” DeLonge said. “And because of that, it’s also what allowed us to give our record away for free and build other assets.” And it’s the other assets that keeps fans coming back to the website. From live band rehearsals, to pay per view concerts to exclusive merchandise, a small monthly subscription fee gives fans VIP access to the band. “We broadcast live on our site, where we have conversations with these people and they are world wide,” said DeLonge. “We are good friends with them at this point”. “You’ve introduced yourself to all these people, now if people want to get closer, there was something that was created that will hopefully help the band create some security,” said David Kennedy, lead guitarist. “And the money that came in from Modlife, we just invested into ourselves.” Other major bands, like “Korn” and “The White Stripes” have taken notice. They are now using Modlife to reach out to their fans. “The music industry has taken such a turn from that state of mind, where I’m going to be on a major label, ” said drummer Atom Willard. “Things have drastically changed in the past 5-10 years. I think this is the way bands are going to succeed.” These musicians are businessmen. And they are not closing the door to possibly working with labels in the future. “All we want to do is celebrate the fact that we are 100% independent at this moment,” said DeLonge. “Because this leaves it open to create new ideas and build a future.” Angels and Airwaves is currently on tour across the country.
Kommer ni ihåg March Madness inlägget? Blink-182 slog Angels & Airwaves och har nu avancerat till andra rundan. Blink-182 går nu upp i ringen mot 30 Seconds To Mars.
I’m going to be honest: I didn’t expect this — any of this — to happen.
Last week, when I wrote my “Musical March Madness” column, I did it mostly because I love college basketball, gambling and superfluous list-making. I made my selections largely at random. I left out a whole bunch of bands I probably shouldn’t have (Linkin Park, Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails — two powerhouses inexplicably relegated to the NIT, sort of like North Carolina and UConn). I drew up a bracket by hand, for crying out loud.
I was not prepared for what happened next. Somehow, my sprawling, slightly stupid project became a fairly big deal, getting coverage on places like NPR and even The Ethiopian Review, and inspiring bands to rally their fanbases to help them advance. In the end, there were hundreds of thousands of votes being cast on the Newsroom blog, some genuine rage, and a whole lot of upsets in the first round of the tourney.
Needless to say, I’m pretty amazed by all the attention it got, not to mention all the brackets I received from readers: well thought-out, carefully crafted things with lengthy explanations of picks (“Petite-but-voluble Pete Wentz makes it to the Sweet 16 before being muscled out by Detroit’s own White Stripes, who go on to win the region over the very entertaining but predictable [read: West Virginia] Foo Fighters”) and everything. So before we get to the updated field, I want to tell those folks who sent in brackets that, yes, one of you will win something; I’m thinking that I’ll pick the bracket that’s closest to the actual results. The prize? An autograph from the band who wins the championship. I figure all your hard work (and insanity) should be rewarded. I just hope you picked a ton of upsets.
Läs hela artikeln här och börja rösta på blink-182
En recension av Angels & Airwaves LOVE album. Från Ink 19.
Angels & Airwaves, the brainchild of Blink 182′s Tom DeLonge, has always been a little too big for its britches. From their very first release, 2006′s We Don’t Need to Whisper, they’ve been shooting for the moon with epic songs that reach for the galaxies dominated by the unmatchable likes of U2. That record, and the subsequent I-Empire, had a handful of rave-worthy tracks and a whole lot of ego. From the get-go they’ve been a band — filled in with Matt Wachter (formerly of 30 Seconds to Mars), Atom Willard (The Offspring), and David Kennnedy (Box Car Racer) — whose live performances far exceeded their recorded efforts.
Until now.
LOVE, self-released and distributed as a free download (or make a donation if you’re hungry for the bonus track, a remix by Blink 182′s Mark Hoppus) on the band’s website, captures not only the ambition of this band, but its spacious sound. Opening with the instrumental “Et Ducit Mundum Per Luce,” a cinematic tone is established with a quiet, gently expanding production that would not be out of place on the soundtrack to The Neverending Story or Legend. Without words, or DeLonge’s oftentimes whiny vocals that sometimes hinder an otherwise awesome song, they establish a feel that is otherworldly. This is not an accident. The band has been quietly working with director Will Eubank on a sci-fi film to be released as an extension of the album. Look for that sometime in May.
As a whole, the album is a strong soundtrack to a film we’ve yet to see. When broken down song by song, it’s a compilation of some of the best work the band has given us thus far. “The Flight of the Apollo,” “Young London,” and “Epic Holiday,” while still slightly held back by DeLonge’s tendency to draw out his “eeee’s,” are out-of-the-park hits. The guitar tones copy heavily from The Edge, but when tied together with all of the other elements, the songs sound uniquely their own.
Blink 182 may be back together, but I’m much more interested in what Angels & Airwaves has to offer.
blink-182 mot AVA. Vem kommer att ta första segern i kampen om att bli det bästa rockbandet. James Montgomery på MTV har startat ett musikbattle, kolla in det här
Look, I love college. I love basketball. And I love gambling. So March Madness is sort of like Christmas, Thanksgiving and my 21st birthday all rolled into one. For one glorious month, I am overjoyed, overstuffed and frequently make bad decisions (like picking Baylor to go to the Final Four this year). And on Sunday, as I sat on my couch watching ESPN’s apoplectic coverage of the 2010 NCAA basketball tournament bracket, I had a thought: What if I combined my love of those things with my other true passion, music? (Oh, and making superfluous lists too.)
Inspired, I spent the next few days compiling a list of the top 65 rock bands in the business — a task that was considerably (and sadly) much tougher than I had previously imagined (because, well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but rock is sort of going through a rough patch at the moment). Frustrated, I checked the Billboard rock charts, listened to the radio and even read a blog or two, and finally, I had my field of 65. These are the bands that — in my best estimation — people actually care about, the ones who sell out arenas, lodge songs on the charts and manage to move units. Some of them I love, others I know nothing about, but they’re all here.
Här kan du titta på ett kort vdeoklipp där Tom förklarar vilka skillnader det är mellan blink-182 och Angels & Airwaves och hur det påverkar musiken.