Pop stars use net to go it alone

Humphreys is a former member of Eighties group OMD

A new group formed by two musicians from 1980s bands are to release their records exclusively through an internet auction site - and hope to make a substantial profit doing so.

Music by Onetwo, who are former Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) member Paul Humphreys and ex-Propaganda singer Claudia Brucken, will only be available from the Ubersonic website.

In effect, the initiative bypasses record labels altogether. The prices will be fixed, not biddable, Ubersonic will send the items, and the lower overheads mean artists themselves will take the bulk of profits from sales.

Humphreys explained to BBC World Service's The Music Biz programme that Onetwo initially looked at setting up a website and offering the music as downloads.

"But we're actually part of the generation that still love the record as a thing, as an object," he added.

"The artwork is still important. The physical thing is still important. So we thought, 'let's find a way between the traditional way of doing it and the downloads.' And this was it."

Artistic freedom

Humphreys outlined what he felt were several key advantages to releasing records in this way.

In particular, he said that it greatly enhanced his artistic freedom.

"We didn't have to pass our music artistically with a 20-year-old A&R guy who's fresh out of college telling us exactly what kind of music we should be making for the mass market," he stated.

"We're also releasing a five-track EP. But trying to get a traditional record company to release a five-track EP would be nightmare - they'd be saying you need to produce an album or a single."

Jim Kjelgaard, who started Ubersonic in Salt Lake City, said he had the intention of making a "indentation" into the music business.

'Immediate access'

He added that in some respects he hoped his approach would have an effect on the market similar to that experienced when the original version of Napster appeared, which allowed people to download and share music for free.

"All of a sudden people had immediate and free access to all this music," he recalled.

"With Ubersonic we're able to move forward. It's very simple, very direct. It's empowering the artist."

He also said he did not want "to make it seem like we're out to get anybody, or take down EMI Virgin or Time Warner or anybody like that".

But he stressed that the most important thing about music is the artist and their songs.

"It shouldn't be about what kind of contract or what kind of deal they have," he added.

"So I think there is a bit of a revolutionary spirit behind it."

Large outlay, large profits?

He also said part of the reason CDs have gradually been becoming more expensive is because the artists have been lobbying to get more profit per unit sold.

Record labels have therefore been putting prices up to protect their own profits.

However, his system would "cut out the middlemen" so that all the artist really has to worry about is manufacturing and recording the CD.

"Whereas in the past they might have sold their CD for $15, they can now price it a regular price of $9 or $10, and they can make back, in some cases, five to ten times the profit by selling five to ten times less."

However, there are substantial obstacles to this process too.

One is that generating sales will be extremely tough, with no major label producing a big advertising and campaign.

Onetwo currently plan to use the OMD and Propaganda websites to create interest in their EP, together with media interviews.

But even getting the record out is very expensive.

Humphreys pointed out that as Ubersonic were not paying for the project, Onetwo were effectively both band and record label. Indeed, they have christened this label There.

This presents the band with massive costs, as they have to manufacture the physical records themselves.

"We're having to foot the costs of what the traditional record company would do, which is the recording of it, using the producers, the studios, mastering the manufacture and some promotion," Humphreys said.

"So the outlay is rather large. The profits are good too though - that's the good side."