Peter Gabriel has teamed up with speaker makers Bowers And Wilkins to provide cheap album downloads in a new subscription service.
The Music Club artists will get to record exclusive albums at Gabriel's Real World Studios in Wiltshire, which will then be available to download for a month as MP3s. One album will be offered each month to those who subscribe to the service, which will provide free studio time to the artists and also return their rights to the music after two months.Artists so far set to be involved include Skip McDonald's Little Axe collective and singer-songwriter Gwyneth Herbert.
Gabriel explained: "This collaboration with B And W is unique as far as I know and it's going to allow a lot of interesting projects to happen. For artists, Music Club is a dream proposition because they get some great time in the studio, access to really good recording facilities and can experiment without being committed to anything or anyone beyond a month with B And W."
Loudspeaker company Bowers And Wilkins will offer exclusive monthly album releases in lossless file formats to members of its newly-formed online community. Possible future plans for the Music Club include arranging meetings for members and staging gigs.
Gabriel is also offering free time at Real World for the winners of the RockStar 08 competition, backed by MusicRadar.
