The Future of Weird Al Releases

[Big Spoon]

We could always get some concert-only polkas in the future.

[tomatochives]

Yeah, I have a strong feeling that the Mandatory Fun polka will be the last polka we see from Al.

But..... but......

[Orthography Enthusiast]

Would it make any sense to have a polka be the drawing point of a sold-at-concerts small pressing?

[mrmeadows]

I'm very skeptical that Al would simply abandon such a staple of his work. . .I'm sure he (and his lawyers) will figure out some way to provide his fans with the occasional polka via his new distribution model. I actually think Skippy's "Complete Your Album" iTunes idea makes total sense for future polkas.

[JEDM]

We could always get some concert-only polkas in the future.

Al and the original artist(s) would/could still get money this way through performance royalties.

[Big Spoon]

Never mind then...

[Way_Moby]

I feel like polkas could also be like DJ Earworm's "Year in Review" series of mashups. Basically, at the end of every year, Al could record the hits into one big polka medley and release them as a single. I'm not sure how the royalties would work out (and honestly, he may just even break even).

There's also the idea he could give them out for free, as kinda of a freebie to entice people to buy his work. I'm not sure if you legally have to pay royalties for a song you offer as a free download (I feel like you only have to do that if you actually earn royalties but I dunno if that's legally sound).

I also like the idea of using them as "album only tracks" on iTunes, basically forcing the fans to buy the whole thang.

[eleventhirtyfour]

And what about the "pay what you want" style? Maybe throw a polka medley on bandcamp.com, for "pay what you want", including free. I'm not sure if he would have to pay royalties on that. I think it's considered a donation if you have the option of paying nothing? I don't know!

[Skippy]

I'm no pretend lawyer, but I don't really think it matters what you call it. Profit is profit, and I'd bet he'd still owe royalties.

[Bruce the Duck]

Copying this from Forum Suggestions section:

Honestly I hope that he continues to release full albums, even if they are digital only (which still seems unfavorable...there's got to be a good independent record company that could accommodate al). I didn't like the whole experience of the Internet leaks, though maybe that was the fault of the songs and the lackluster alpocolypse release because we heard half the tracks early.

Anyway sorry to keep bumping this topic...

I agree - I didn't like the "Internet Leaks" project, but that's mostly because it took all the steam out of "Alpocalypse." But the releases themselves were exciting at the time. I like the idea of Al releasing songs as he comes up with them from now on. At least he won't release something like "Inactive" after 58 other people have already released the exact same parody on YouTube. And I think he could find a way to put the songs out in a physical package once he had enough for a full album. Maybe add a few album-only bonus tracks to make it worthwhile.