One Tree Hill fans will remember Warner/Reprise artist Tyler Hilton in his recurring role as the villainous Chris Keller. Those of you who without an affinity for the soapy CW teen drama may remember him as Elvis in the 2005 film Walk The Line. Though throughout his 10-year career as a recording artist Hilton has not quite been able to match his success on the screen with success on the charts, he's been on my radar since I first heard 3 brilliant and memorable acoustic/pop tracks from his 2004 album The Tracks of Tyler Hilton (When It Comes, The Letter Song, and Pink and Black). I believe that When It Comes is still in my Ipod's Top 25.
A few days ago I saw a Facebook Ad announcing a new release of Hilton's-- likely targeted to me because I'd listed him years ago as a favorite artist. Since he'd already earned my trust I was more than willing to give his new music a chance, but the first thought that popped into my head was "I am not paying $8 for 5 songs that I haven't heard and may or may not like." The second thought? "I don't have time to listen to 12 new tracks that I haven't heard and may or may not like." To my surprise and delight, the 5-song EP was available on Itunes for only $2.99. I downloaded it without hesitation.
Kudos to Warner/Reprise for appropriate pricing and marketing on this release.
Will EPs eventually replace full-length albums as the default method for releasing new music? This marketer and music fan hopes so. Think about it; unless we're talking about a full-length new album from an artist that one is very passionate about (I can only think of 5-10 of these off the top of my head), why should I allot hours of my time to dedicate the 3-5 listens to 12 songs that it normally takes to reach a level of familiariarity and enjoyment with each? Also, why should I spend $9.99 on unknown music when I could just as easily use this money to purchase 10 songs that I love?
If labels and artists want digital downloads to compete with the Groovesharks of the world as a means of music discovery, a fairly priced EP is definitely a step in the right direction.
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