Top-selling Korean hip-hop group Epik High will release their new album independently both on iTunes and through their newly launched website.
Music Distribution house DFSB announced yesterday that they have signed the deal to release the much-anticipated album through Apple`s pioneering music program.
Bernie Cho, the founder of DFSB, said that plans to release songs by other popular local acts who have struck exclusive deals with the company like Drunken Tiger, House Rules, T: Yoon Mirae, Crying Nut and No Brain through iTunes are also underway. This is the first deal to distribute music from Korean artists on iTunes.
Epik High, whose new album is supplemented with a book written by the group`s eccentric leader and best-selling author Tablo, recently broke all ties with their record label to distribute the group`s music, books and other merchandise on their own.
When Epik High`s official webpage www.mapthesoul.com, went online on Saturday, the server was brought down due to the more than 300,000 fans who rushed to the site. Their new album is set to have its official launch on Friday.
"We don`t want to slap on a price that`ll hurt the fans financially," said Tablo. "We want our fans to always get more than they pay for, in comparison to fans of other artists. To eliminate the fluff in the pricing, we realized that selling and distributing this work ourselves is the only way."
Epik High`s new approach follows bands such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, who have released music digitally to great success, forgoing the traditional route of dispensing their work through a record label.
Cho believes this deal will help Korean artists gain more visibility globally than signing with an overseas label.
"We believe this will revolutionize the way the Korean music industry operates. Through this deal with Apple`s iTunes, the local music industry will take a step closer in becoming truly global," Cho said.
Apple`s music program currently dominates the digital distribution market with a whopping 70 percent market share. Through multimedia devices such as the iPod and iPhone, the company provides music, videos, and application downloads to 22 countries.
By Song Woong-ki
(kws@heraldm.com)
[출처 : 코리아헤럴드]
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