I was obviously very interested in this project. Since the competition was free to enter, I thought "what the heck".
To my surprise, I ended up winning the competition. The nice thing about that, aside from the obvious, is I knew that an unbiased 3rd party picked my song out of the hundreds entered.
Here is that song
Aside from winning runner up on a chemical brother remix contest, this was my biggest musical achievement at the time. The game, went on to be released mainly in Russia's PC market, although it was released across Europe. Also, the game company couldn't offer any money due to a tight budget.
I had a decision to make, would I say no to the project because I wasn't going to get paid and it would only be released in Russia? or... would I realize this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, swallow my pride, and accept the terms?
I'm sure the suspense is killing you, I ended up letting them use the song. This was 5 years ago, and I still work with this company today :)
Aside from growing with that game company, something really valuable came out of that first video game experience that I wouldn't realize until this past week. While googling "Redshirt Theory" (come on we all do it :) I came across a music forum that was talking about my music...in Russian! I didn't connect the dots at first, but after using google translator, I saw that most of the posters had heard of me in that very same PC game all those years ago.
They even went as far as making their own "favorites" compilations of my songs and uploading them for everyone. I didn't know how to react when I saw these people distributing my music for free. Surprisingly I wasn't mad at all, in fact I was very flattered. I decided to sign up for their forum and begin offering some of my songs that hadn't been released.
Once I had my new album finished, I decided to contact one of the posters, and give it to him for free on the condition that he help spread the word. He agreed, and next thing I knew he had posted the album on many sites for a free download. The amount of downloads I was getting was blowing my mind! As of typing this blog, I have 567 downloads of the new album. To put that in perspective, selling my "Getting Massive" album on itunes, I have 25 full album purchases in 4 years.
I realized something with all of this. Firstly, Prince gave away his album in a Sunday newspaper. If Prince has to give away albums, Redshirt Theory has to as well. Secondly, if I would have said no all those years ago to the video game company, I may not have any video game releases (as I've used my resume to pursue other games) and I might not have 567 downloads of my latest album either. I would probably be on the same pace as my last album which got a whopping 30 downloads last year. Hopefully of those 567 downloads, I might gain some fans and maybe they will also post the album, and i will get some more fans, and maybe they will post it and ... you get the idea.
You can download the new album free here
Nice read, bro. And you are SO RIGHT about the state of album sales and the analogy based on Prince. Performance and "product placement" of music (film, games, TV) are how non-mainstream pop stars have to "make it" these days. Only the biggest mainstream stars can make any real money on record sales. NIN gives away music for crying out loud. I've always believed in your talent and I remember you winning a certain other contest a few years back, too. ;) - Dead Edgar, Less Like Flesh
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