Comment of the Moment: New Neil Young Archives Membership Tiers: Rust & Patron

Neil On Demand!

Neil Young Archives | NYA 

 

As always, much excitement amongst the rusties over all the Neil Young news happenings.

On Tuesday, Neil Young announced the long expected introduction of "Tiered Memberships" to NYA.  In addition to the current "Classic" membership, two new membership tiers have been added: Rust & Patron. (See NYA background and details.)  

NYA TIERS  | T-C | Neil Young Archives

 

So, without further ado, we bring you our TW Comment of the Moment  Month:  MAJOR NEIL YOUNG ANNOUNCEMENT - New NYA Membership Tiers: Rust & Patron by the "Inextinguishable Scotsman":

Yes! It's true.

The NYA website, contrary to my doom-and-gloom early predictions, is indeed showing signs of flourishing.

(...and the app actually now works on my phone, sort of.)

I've been actively rallying in favour of a more extensive "concert archive" at NYA for more than 2 years. And I am delighted to see it coming to life.

But NYA (with cheap prices, very limited "exclusive content" and ridiculous expenses) has also struggled to make a profit; a problem even for a shrewd fellow like Neil who has reportedly just pocketed $150,000,000.

So here's a typically-messy compilation of my thoughts, still relevant (I think) as we move forward into 2021. Take 'em or leave 'em.

The goal, of course, is to make a profit. Because as Zig Ziglar said, "you can do a lot more with profit than you can with loss". A profit can be re-invested in the project (or spent on a new swimming pool or vintage car).

And so the secret to the success of an archive project like NYA is to a) increase prices to make it profitable and b) make it obviously well worth the cost, from the target audience's perspective.

Record companies, greedy as they often are, are unsurprisingly enthusiastic about the first point but conveniently ignore the second.

And so people lose interest....the word stops spreading.

People like you and I start to give up, stop visiting.

And the project starts to die.

But if NYA keep *both* points in mind, then they have a real chance of succeeding.

Neil Young, of course, has *too much* great music to release to a conventional schedule. Neil could live to 200 (you'd be a fool to bet against it), and he'd still be discovering new concert tapes in his archive.

("Oh look, a tape of the Mountain House gig from 1990: it somehow fell down the back of the mixing desk for 150 years!")

And the NYA website is the perfect place to (gradually) put all the stuff that doesn't really have a place anywhere else.

Demos, outtakes, videos, live recordings, podcasts...you name it. A treasure chest of gems, misfits, rarities and curiosities. That's what an archive is all about, isn't it?

And over time, it all adds up. It becomes such a remarkable and comprehensive resource that a true fan can't possibly ignore it. And that's what the target should be.

I think a gradual roll-out makes more sense than the short-lived strategy of dumping everything on the site at once. Keep the tension mounting. Neil's most captivating lead-guitar performances build up to boiling point: the same philosophy should apply to NYA.

Surprises have impact. A regular schedule is important and gets the audience into the habit of visiting, but it also becomes taken for granted. Shake things up, sometimes, to keep the audience on their toes.

Record companies are SLOW and need to make announcements months in advance. NYA can act more swiftly, and should.

More suggestions?

Fire off a few cannons, first. An extraordinary show added to the concert timeline (with accompanying notes to give some fascinating context) will generate more benefit (via positive word-of-mouth) than paying for advertising.

The prototype concert additions back in November kind of went under the radar, but they were a leap in the right direction.

Include an allocation of download tickets for premium subscribers. The record company will HATE this idea: that's because they are still imprisoned in 1976 and arrogantly believe they are still owed a living.

Yes, the greedy scoundrels want to extract every last penny from our cold, dead hands. They want us to buy everything multiple times, and (fools that we are), we obligingly line up and bend over.

But of course, we aren't that stupid. We're not cold and dead. We're vividly alive, and we're not going to take any bullsh!t from a dying industry trying to rip us off.
There are plenty of other worthwhile causes to spend our money on, instead.

My point: including some "free" downloads just might be a major selling point for a fanbase which still likes to actually "own" music (rather than just rent it). And it discourages people from seeking out ways to download unofficially.

...People will download regardless of whether you "allow" them to or not! The old-skool music industry failed to learn that lesson 20 years ago, tried to fight it, and was mortally wounded as a result. So you might as well make it a selling point, instead.

Yet more suggestions:

Make every page easy to share a link to, online. No, neither you nor I use social media. But lots of people do. Why not make it easy for them to spread the word?

Or do the opposite: make it SO jumbled and messy and impenetrable and chaotic that it feels like a REAL archive. It all depends what the goal is. Do you care about reaching a sustainable audience or not? Don't answer too hastily.

Some fans, of course, are naturally more connected than others. If I knew someone who ran the foremost Neil Young internet blog (not to name any names) that helps spread the word across the planet, then I'd consider giving that person a complimentary membership. For obvious reasons.

And what about me: the inflammable, pompous Scotsman? Will I myself be becoming a patron?

Of course not! I'm a professional, not a bloody "patron". And I've contributed more of value in the last few paragraphs than some folks actually on the Warner payroll.

But I will be satisfied to settle for a complimentary upgrade to my membership: NYA knows how to reach me on line 1.

The key to success for this website?

Make it a bargain.

...Note that I *didn't* say "make it cheap"!

On the contrary, I'm entirely in favour of a higher price. But make it worth it. Blow us away with that live show from Rotterdam 1989, and then Concord 1993, and then Cal Expo 1996 (or whatever). Release things often and without too much warning, jolting us out of our routine-induced stupor.

No matter how costly the subscription, NYA should make the customer think "WOW! I really got a good deal there. This is an incredible resource. Now, I'm having so much fun I must rave about this to my friends..."

That's how the word spreads.

(NYA Vol 2 gave us something to talk about, alright: the Greedy Hand marketing was so contemptuous I spent two weeks telling everybody I know that I'd never buy a Neil Young box set ever again. So it works both ways.)

Easier said than done? Yes, of course. Especially with a record company that might well be pressing for the stingiest approach possible.

But you don't make waves by playing it safe - Neil knows that better than any of us.

Don't get me wrong! NYA shouldn't fire every bullet it has at once. Far from it. But it does need to come out firing...on a frequent, sustainable basis.

If it does, I think people will quickly start to notice that yes, this is an exciting project and yes, it really is worth paying extra for.

In the meantime, though, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. Lots of potential, here.

Scotsman.

PS - Following on from one point above:

Thrasher probably doesn't get enough credit for maintaining this blog, hosting the discussion, and generally promoting Neil's work (year after year).

Musicians sometimes have a mixed relationship with their fanbase. Do they want the attention or not? You can understand why "both" would be a popular answer.

But without fans like Thrasher spreading the word, it's safe to say that even a monumental artist like Neil wouldn't have much of a fanbase in today's harsh musical climate.
 

So many great points here "Inextinguishable Scotsman"!  When you come up out of hibernation you really mean it.  Must be the Spring weather. :)

Agree that there are many angles at play here.  Artist's vision. Fan satisfaction.  Business, expenses and revenue. ART+ COMMERCE (hey Abner!)

And we do thank you for acknowledging the role TW has played in the history of NYA going back to those "Archives Guy" days.  It has been our pleasure and honor of a lifetime to share this stage.  As you well know, we wouldn't buy, sell, borrow or trade anything, we'd rather start all over again.

We noticed this news was sort of a big deal in the Bob Dylan world over on Expecting Rain. (Thanks Harold!)  While we really do try not to elevate -- or reduce -- every discussion into the Bob & Neil framework -- yet again -- we are compelled to point out the connections.

 

Bob will head off in a direction and eventually Neil learns, follows and improves.  (We've been through this a thousand times before.)  Where once Bob was light years ahead of Neil in curating his Archives, now suddenly, Neil is leader of the pack with his "Cutting Edge File Cabinet Technology".

 

 

 "Cutting Edge File Cabinet Technology" | NYA

 

These times are unprecedented in music history and we're so lucky to be alive to be part of this roll out.  As noted here previously, the Neil Young Archives are -- unquestionably -- a quirky quixotic quest unprecedented in the entire history of commercial music.

The Neil Young Archives represent a towering achievement which no other artist in history has accomplished by building a fully interactive archive of all media types into a single simple interface, while cost effectively (via the internet) reaching every audience on EARTH.

 "A Rusties Holy Grail"

 

We're enjoying NYA and feel so blessed to be a part of the rustie community! Thank you and we love & miss you all. All together very soon.

Bucket Envy @ TW HQ - March 2021

 A Good Day @ Thrasher's Wheat! 

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