Dave Sitek's Federal Prism Label Announces New Model For Releasing Music

posted in: Music News

Dave Sitek

Federal Prism, the new record label from TV On The Radio‘s Dave Sitek and his partner Jeff Bowers, is trying a new approach to releasing music.

It’s become clear in recent years that where mass marketing was once the name of the game in the music biz, direct fan engagement is now the holy grail for artists and those labels interested in building careers. But how best to make that connection?

Federal Prism’s answer is thorough online interaction with fans. New music from their roster will now be released on SoundCloud prior to any retail release. Going even further, the label will offer select track stems (essentially deconstructed pieces of songs) for fans and other artists to hear and remix.

“The goal here is to allow listeners to participate fully in the creative and marketing process, in many cases prior to the commercial release,” said Bowers. “SoundCloud gives us an opportunity to break albums and singles with a completely new engagement strategy. Young producers and fans will have access to new music before it’s proper release, but more importantly they will have a unique opportunity to reinvent the track and interact directly with the producer and artist while doing so.”

Head over to their SoundCloud page starting today for the first such releases, including music from TV On The Radio, Oh Land, Chuck Inglish, Asher Roth, and more. And look for new releases soon from Sitek, Kelis, Scarlett Johansson, Stardeath, and the White Dwarves.