Size Records giving songs for free via Google Play
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NEW YORK (AP) – International DJ-producer Steve Angello is giving away his record label’s entire catalog with the help of Google Play.
The former Swedish House Mafia member announced Friday that his Size Records will roll out more than 170 songs for free to fans in the United States. The campaign, dubbed “(hash)DECADE,” kicks off with 10 free songs Friday. The rest of the label’s music will be made available in the coming weeks and conclude during Miami Music Week at the end of March.
“I don’t think that music should always be for free, but I think if there’s stuff that can be done the way we’ve done it now, I think labels should give it a try,” he said in an interview this week.
Angello launched Size Records in 2003, and the new campaign is to thank fans for the decade-long support behind the independent label. The free songs, launched with Angello’s creative agency Rebels Studios alongside Google, are from more than 80 artists.
“We took a pretty hard hit when it came to finances (and) trying to sell records when it became digital, so for me it really doesn’t make much of a big difference financially – if I give it away for free or if I sell it,” he said. “So, why not?”
Angello is best known as one-third of electronic dance outfit Swedish House Mafia alongside Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso. Their international hits include “Save the World” and “Don’t You Worry Child.” Angello also had success as a producer for Usher, will.i.am and others with and without his former bandmates.
His new campaign follows in the footsteps of De La Soul, who released seven albums worth of material for free on its website for 25 hours last month. Jay Z also was unconventional when he released his last album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” through a deal with Samsung that gave the album to 1 million users of Galaxy mobile phones days before its official release. His wife, Beyonce, made a splash when she released her self-titled album as a surprise on iTunes late last year.
Angello believes more artists will release music for free.
“It’s a very easy way to communicate with your fans,” he said. “I hope more people will see the way the music scene is now and kind of adapt to it.”
Angello, who born in Athens, was raised in Stockholm, where he is building a new recording studio. He said he will finish making his new album “in the next two weeks.”