GhostTunes: Still No Community But They’ve Got A Trisha Yearwood Digital Exclusive
As Garth Brooks' GhostTunes moves forward with its digital music sales and streaming locker service, they've got their second big digital exclusive. GhostTunes launched and is said to be founded by Garth Brooks who gave them their first. Now Trisha Yearwood, his wife, is offering presales of her next album as a GhostTunes digital exclusive with physical sales presumably handled as normal. It's a good look for GhostTunes which hasn't yet delivered on Brooks social promises but could make big moves with digital exclusives.
GhostTunes: Says One Thing, Does Another
Quick recap: Garth Brooks announces "own version of social media."
Brooks launches GhostTunes with a giant Garth Brooks digital exclusive and it appears to be a music ecommerce site with music lockers for immediate streamig of your purchased downloads. No signs of anything social.
In many respects GhostTunes got off to a rocky beginning. They claim in their homepage video that they're more than a sales platform but they have given us absolutely no indication that anything more is coming so it's a big fail in terms of communication with the public.
It may be that more is coming and they're not saying anything because they don't think they need to. Given all the coverage, general lack of criticism and the ability of the general public to kiss and makeup with the next news cycle, they're probaby just fine.
Here's What GhostTunes Has Done Right
In addition to having some solid ecommerce features such as immediate streaming after purchase, GhostTunes is getting exclusives from major artists.
First Garth Brooks did a major release of a new album and all his back albums that have never been available digitally from a legal source.
Now GhostTunes has an exclusive digital release from Trisha Yearwood, who's also a major country star and on tour with Brooks.
Exclusives are what Will.i.am said Beats should do and I think he was right. Even if they were planning a quick exit, it would have grown the service and made them an even more attractive acquisition target.
Since GhostTunes launched with a platform that included a full range of genres they seem a bit unfocused but if they start getting exclusives from other big stars in other genres, then everything snaps into focus.
Should be interesting to watch GhostTunes' progress.
[And maybe one day we'll know why the weird name. And also who else is involved besides Garth Brooks.]
More:
- Garth Brooks Promised Something Special, Instead He Launched GhostTunes
- Garth Brooks Goes D2F With Digital Sales and "Own Version Of Social Media"
- Beats Music's Best Move: Exclusive Music Releases Beginning With Jay Z
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) recently launched DanceLand. Send news about music tech startups and services, DIY music biz and music marketing to: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
