King Crimson moves his catalog on Apple Music, Spotify

The iconic progressive rock band King Crimson has made its entire studio catalog available to users on Apple Music. Spotify will follow next month. This makes them one of the last groups in the classic rock era – if not the last – to have their catalog on streaming platforms.

While apps like Spotify and Apple Music have become more popular with listeners, many artists have resisted them. Led Zeppelin waited until 2013 to allow the release of his catalog. The Beatles waited until 2015. In 2015, Prince was so unhappy with the platform that he deleted the entirety of his catalog of streaming services in 2015.

In the majority of cases, the problem was the royalty rate – and it's easy to understand why. According to Digital Music News, the streaming services only report to artists a penny for each song played, Apple Music paying $ 0.00735 per piece. That's Napster who pays the most, at $ 0.019 per stream.

Eventually, these artists saw the writing on the wall and resigned themselves to these platforms, and even Prince's music can be heard today, after a decision on the part of his field to make it to new available.

In announcing the availability of the group's catalog in April, King Crimson's director, David Singleton, said that the group's decision to adopt the platform was not motivated by the steady decline in sales of physical media. In fact, he said that during the past decade, the group's label, DGM, had seen its sales of records and CDs increase.

That being the case, why should the group change strategy?

Singleton said in an email to CNBC that this business model did not generate enough revenue to support an even relatively independent and relatively cheap artist like King Crimson.

"If a modest to moderate artist records an album and sells about 10,000 CDs, that's more than enough to finance a moderate recording budget," he said. "If, however, those same sales go to streaming and if you have more than 10,000 feeds, there is no comparable income."

The transition to streaming may not be a big boost to the group's bank account, but as a promotional strategy, it makes a lot of sense. The moment is well chosen.

Cover of King Crimson's first album in 1969, "In the court of King Crimson"

It's the 50th anniversary of the band's first album in 1969, "In the Court of the Crimson King", and they commemorate it with the release of two luxury CD cabinets and an international tour. A more widely available catalog could do a lot to raise awareness of both.

The transition to streaming services could also benefit the Group's DGM Live website, which sells the group's music and spin-off products. A newly available mailing catalog could open customer bases in new, far away places.

"Classical rock has an important audience in the Asian region, which is often ignored on tour," said Mangala Bhattacharjee of Indian-based market intelligence firm Research on Global Markets. "The shift to streaming services gives bands visibility into new markets, but also the opportunity to grow their business through online sales and subscriptions."

Most importantly, the DGM Live website hosts an extensive archive of live recordings that date back to the band's first concert in 1969. These downloadable "downloadable" official bootlegs are in the hundreds and sell for $ 10 each, and According to lawyer Donald E. Petersen, they can be the group's most important long-term asset.

"Live recordings are infinitely more valuable for [the group]The rental of studio recordings at Apple Music will contribute to the growth of the market of the entire catalog of the group, "he said.

The group can also make this decision simply because the weather demands it. Some of its members are now over 70, as are many of their longtime fans, and Tara Anne, an artist manager who has worked with musicians such as Snoop Dogg and the Indigo Girls, said that King Crimson and other historical artists had to adopt streaming as a matter of survival.

"If the majority of your fan base gets old and you want to continue presenting your music to a younger audience, you're going digital," she said. Jeff Price, CEO and founder of digital rights Audiam, agreed and said that artists not present on Apple Music, Spotify and other streaming services have been at a disadvantage and could prove fatal commercial.

"People aged 30 and under all use streaming services," he said. "If you want to get lost in the dark, there is no better way than to make sure your music is not where the" kids "are today. "

Finally, David Singleton said that putting King Crimson's catalog on streaming services is not just about educating new audiences about their young audience. More and more, these services are becoming the resources that the audience reaches when they want to listen to music, regardless of their age.

"A growing number of music lovers are using [streaming services] as the main way to find and enjoy music, "he said. Therefore, quite simply, the music must be present. "