One Paul Westerberg album: 49 cents

Here's a bargain: Paul Westerberg this weekend released an one-track, 44-minute song via Amazon.com, distributing it to the online seller with the help of TuneCore.

The cut, really one 44-minute album, is available for 49 cents. It's essentially one long, scruffy, low-fi melding of a dozen-plus Westerberg songs.

A tracklist on PaulWesterberg.net puts it at 22 songs. I haven't owned it long enough to critique it, but Westerberg fans will be pleased, and it's certainly as tunefully scrappy as his full-priced albums for Vagrant Records in 2003 and 2004.

Billboard.com posted some details on the album, with quotes from Westerberg's manager Darren Hill. Apparently, the album was just finished last week. Said Hill to Billboard's Jonathan Cohen: "He finished it on Monday, sent it to me on Tuesday and it was out this weekend."

But 49 cents? That's a bit removed from the iTunes standard of $9.99, and at first, it might seem to mark a new low for the cost of an album. But credit TuneCore for making something such as this possible.

With Westerberg selling this as one track, it's only costing Westerberg a whopping $9.99 to sell it online, according to TuneCore's figures. That's simply a $9.99 flat yearly fee. (The single/album is also available via TuneCore.) Without taking into account any fees that would go to Amazon.com, only about 22 people would need to purchase the album to make back the $11 distribution fee.

TuneCore is also the preferred delivery system of Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor.

Update: Originally, I had the distribution fee at $10.98, but a TuneCore rep got in touch, and noted that there are no additional charges for distributing a single. For albums, TuneCore charges an additional .99 cents per track per store.

Photo: Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Mal]

certainly a great marketing tool. 49:00 has gotten a lot of press from this download. mr westerberg should benefit as a result and will likely raise prices on this next new release

http://www.musicnewsnet.com/

[Joey Stinson]

The album is really uneven but some gems in there. And for 49 cents its hard not to get into the lo fit garage rock spirit. (The first 15 minutes or so -- four songs -- are more straightforward quality stuff you'd find on his last few releases. Then it gets odder, but keep listening for some more goodies.)