Killola Release Free Downloadable Album

Situation:

Three years ago BreakThru Radio tipped Los Angeles garage band Killola as a band who is already at “the forefront of where the music industry is going”. This is due to their innovative and integrated use of social media during a time when the music industry was only just beginning to wake up to MySpace.

As very early MySpace adopters who also published a regularly updated blog, Killola have been interacting with their fans in the digital sphere for years. Their first album, Louder, Louder, sold well enough on both sides of the Atlantic to allow them to book a UK tour.

During this time, the music industry’s business model was rapidly changing. File sharing was rampant, and album sales were becoming less important.

Solution:

Killola implemented two strategies for their sophomore release: one experimental idea and another that ought to be mandatory for any band engaging in online marketing.

1. Free Downloadable Album

Killola took a sizable risk by releasing album I Am The Messer for free via an embeddable “web widget”. To offset the risk, they formed partnerships with DW Drums and Skullcandy for the album’s release.

2. Social Media Integration

Killola expanded their already significant online presence for I Am The Messer. What makes this band stand out is how well they integrated everything they were doing for the release. Killola’s social media profile includes:

• (a very good) Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube Channel
• Virb

Results:

Successes following I Am The Messer‘s “freelease”:

• Within six months of the album’s release, Killola’s entire CD inventory was depleted via online sales

• Ability to tour even more frequently, and to new cities

• When playing in cities they’ve never played in before, the audience already knew the words to their songs

• A new music video reaches more than 27,000 YouTube views in 8 months. Previous music videos averaged only 10,000-15,000 views over a span of 3 years. The YouTube graph pictured above shows how important social media  was to to the total number of video views, particularly early its release

• 6,000+ Twitter followers

• 1,800+ Facebook fans

• Very active fan base

• Their own iPhone app where fans can upload messages while they’re at Killola shows

Killola’s continuous online presence between album releases kept the momentum going. They are charging for their newest album, but not traditionally:

• $15.00 gets you their third album Let’s Get Associated, delivered on a USB Dog Tag Flash Drive.

• $40.00 gets you Let’s Get Associated, their entire back catalog, bonus videos, and remote uploads including their live shows.

Despite their successes, Killola explain that they can only go so far on their own and are actively seeking a major label record deal. The fact that an independently successful band still seeks label support will be good news for the majors.