Music
Why AC/DC finally signing off on digital distribution is worth paying attention to
by Tyler Munro
November 19, 2012
AC/DC have finally caved and given into demands by putting their discography on iTunes, celebrating the news with a $230 digital box set and a post on their website.
While the obvious jokes about them having written a single song and released it ad infinitum still apply, this is still a pretty big deal on the industry side of things.
Guitarist Angus Young has long cited the band’s desire to have their music listened to as a whole rather than individually as the reason for their holdout, but even a marginal amount of research is enough to call shenanigans there—single song releases have been their bread and butter since the 80s.
The truth is that AC/DC still sell records. Lots of them. In 2008, their 16th album Black Ice debuted at #1 in 29 countries. Within three months it had shipped more than 6 million copies, and to this day it’s sold more than 8 million total. Keep in mind that none of these sales were digital.
It’s not about the experience for AC/DC. For them, it’s about the money. Say what they will, but Black Ice essentially turned control of the album over to Walmart, who pushed the album themselves with their own marketing campaigns and promotions.
Details surrounding the group’s deal with Apple haven’t been disclosed, but that it happened is a big part of the seismic shift happening in the music industry. Though they’re rumoured to be working on a new album, the agreement might mean things are winding down for one of music’s last remaining industry dinosaurs. If not that, it symbolizes a push on the part of their representation; if not to stay relevant in a changing market, than to make as much money as possible on the switch while the offer still stood.
Oh, and they have a new live album out. That probably helps, too.
If you’re into it, their discography is immediately available on iTunes, coming with the promise of being remastered, a promise that might just be enough for collectors to double dip into their collections. All of this being said, they’re still holding off on streaming services.
