"The Internet is the best thing that has ever happened to music in the history of music," said Adam Duritz, lead singer of Counting Crows. "It's just not necessarily the best thing that's happened to record companies because they won't look at it the right way."
Record companies may not get the Internet, seeing it as a threat. For Duritz, it's become another avenue for expression. He maintains a blog as well as an online magazine called Rabbit Down the Hole. As a band, Counting Crows have even launched a foundation to help others called the Greybird Foundation.
When Counting Crows were ready to end the six-year gap between Hard Candy and Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings in March 2008, Duritz had a plan for how to re-introduce the band and their new album to listeners. Reaching the top of the charts has never been easy and repeating past successes can sometimes be even more difficult. Six-year absences rarely make that task easier.
Introducing a new record in the current music industry environment is a challenge in and of itself. Saturday Nights& Sunday Mornings potentially posed an even greater challenge being, in essence, two records housed on one single CD. Duritz says the band has always thought more in terms of albums than singles throughout their history. Breaking one album in the current environment is hard. Properly introducing two? Good luck. As for finding an audience, well, that's become nearly impossible for everyone. Still, Duritz had a plan. 
"What it [the Internet] really is [is] … the world's biggest billboard and it's free," he said. "It's a free billboard and you have to look at it that way. You've got to stop trying to cling to every thing and attack the people who are taking from you and start using it to promote yourself.
"It's fucking free. Use your fucking brain. It's free. How much does it take to wake you up to the fact that it's free? I'm awake to it."
Duritz wanted to give away a "digital 45" from the album for free, one song from Saturday Nights, one from Sunday Mornings. Two albums, two singles. Free.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i just love how Duritz was ready to take on Iovine. he really does "get it".
2 - Josh Hathaway
Yeah, I like the "old school" mentality he seems to have about making music and conceiving albums combined with an understanding of new approaches in getting it to the masses.
Iovine has always come across tough and smart when I've seen him in interviews. It doesn't surprise me that he got it.
3 - runaway dorothy
Every day I pass Sullivan St. and can't help but sing 'Took the way home, that leads back to Sullivan Street...'
runaway dorothy
New York, NY 10009
Myspace
Blog
4 - El Bicho
Am I missing something? All I see is a huge blank space and then the get-share button
5 - Josh Hathaway
I am seeing the full embedded widget on my screen, El B. I'm not the world's greatest tech guy, but it's there in my browser. Do you have any sort of adblock software on in your browser?
6 - JC Mosquito
I did the old fashioned thing - went out and boought the CD because word was it was GOOD. And IT IS. But 1492 would kicked the world in the head as a single - it's too good to give away.
7 - Josh Hathaway
The record company didn't even want "1492" on the record, if you can believe that. That was the song Adam wanted as the first single. I think he's right.
Part 2 will be on the way soon. I'd hoped to tackle that tonight but my wife's car broke down so I'll be taking a spool of duct tape to it and seeing if I can get it running. I wish I had a web cam for this. Me and cars are comic gold.