8889 "Numbers of Me" (19.7 MB) from Zoology High Noon Saloon Madison, WI May 10, 2008

When Radiohead all but gave away an album last year, and when Nine Inch Nails made one totally free just a couple weeks ago, some scoffed at the idea that it could really represent a new business model for the music industry as a whole. Since both those bands are already so well-established, it seems that they could run off and do their own thing, making big bank from publishing and touring, but that smaller bands couldn't get by doing it on the smaller scale. Nonetheless, Madison guitar popsters 8889 are trying a similar approach with their new record. Copies were given out free at their $5 release show, and the liner notes indicate that they're not making any money from distribution of the record -- they're doing everything they can to get it to people free of charge. They've got something set up on their site for people to donate if they want to, though no download links as far as I can tell.

A fair number of people showed up for the release show, and seemed to know the band pretty well, which surprised me a little. I saw them several years ago, but haven't heard much from them in the interim. They seem to still be going strong, though, and their new material came together quite nicely live.