David Fagin, founder of The Rosenbergs, recounts in his new memoir how the band used a Napster front-page placement, a two-for-one CD (compact disc) bundle, and tour sponsorship to reach audiences after rejecting a major-label contract. The chapter, titled “How Does Dave Matthews Get Prime Placement and Not Us!?”, appears in Confessions of a Musical Masochist.
Fagin is a musician, songwriter, producer, and artist-rights advocate. The Rosenbergs became a case study in artist leverage in 2000 when Fagin publicly refused a slot on Universal-affiliated Farmclub over a 23-page, six-album contract that would have given the label the band’s website and publishing in exchange for roughly two minutes of airtime. His refusal circulated widely, a precursor to what is now called going viral, and drew coverage from CNN, CNBC, the LA Times, Spin, Wired, and the Denver Post. The band instead signed with Robert Fripp‘s Discipline Global Mobile on a revenue-share deal that let it retain its masters and partner with Napster on record sales and tour promotion.
The memoir covers his career from viral notoriety, national tours, and a deal with British rock royalty to empty clubs, floor-sleeping, disastrous road trips, tribute bands, and stints with The Muppets, Neil Diamond, and Sheryl Crow.
Napster partnership and two-for-one release
In the excerpt, Fagin writes that the band did not want to give music away but had found traditional promotion off limits. Milt Olin, Napster’s chief executive officer at the time, called the group “scrappy.” Napster was fighting its own legal war with major labels and viewed the band as kindred spirits. Adrian, whom Fagin describes as slow-and-steady, also supported the plan.
The Napster deal included several components:
- Manufacturing and distribution of 10,000 copies of Mission: You with a second full-length Napster disc.
- Front-page placement on Napster.
- Tour sponsorship with $5,000 in cash, six-foot magnetic logos, and merchandise.
One disc included the booklet, lyrics, and liner notes; the Napster disc carried only the Napster logo and a note from the band:
Before we become drug-addicted rock stars and isolate ourselves from our fans, we can think of no better way to get our music to the public than with the help of Napster. If 20,000 people have the record, that’s potentially 40,000 people at our shows. Here’s a copy for you and a copy for a friend.
Fagin describes the approach as “file sharing, Amish-style.” He adds that Sony later used a similar two-for-one offer with some of its artists.
Front-page placement and mailing list
Napster also placed the band on its front page, which Fagin compares to being added to Spotify‘s front page today. At the time, he writes, it meant hundreds of thousands of daily views and a back door into the mainstream.
The morning after the front-page placement went live, Fagin and bandmate Evan were in a motel. Evan opened his laptop and said:
Jesus Christ, David! We got over a thousand requests to be added to the mailing list just since last night!
In the first week, the band collected more than ten thousand email addresses. Evan manually entered every address into the database before services like Mailchimp or Constant Contact existed, typing for hours in the van between gigs.
Tour sponsorship and open question
Napster also sponsored the band’s tour with $5,000 in cash, several six-foot-long magnetic Napster logos for the van, and boxes of T-shirts, stickers, hats, and other merchandise. Fagin writes that the magnetic logos were stolen within a week and that people honked at the van in support or opposition.
The band could barely draw fifty people in New York City, but it was booked as headliner in 500-capacity venues in New Mexico and Sacramento. Fagin closes the excerpt by asking whether Napster’s exposure and the mailing list would translate into attendance.
