ARE music subscriptions now becoming the norm?
If you read the current runes it would seem so. Youtube have just followed the Spotify model by striking a deal with record labels to launch their premium subscription service. Even cult indy labels such as Stones Throw have thrown their hat in to the same ring.
Now the online music distribution service Bandcamp is offering artists the same ability through its app. Music-makers can set their own price and fans would be able to access releases as well as discounts on merchandise.
As Marcus Dowling points out in the website Do Androids Dance, it's like going back to the old days when being part of a fanclub meant something. Although I doubt we can ever fully recapture those moments, it does give fans the opportunity to support their favourite band largely through the Bandcamp app.
As the whole argument about how society pays musicians rolls on, at least we can say that companies like Bandcamp are giving artists some freedom and an alternative to Spotify, Youtube and iTunes.