You may not have heard of Marillion but either directly or
indirectly, however, you have almost certainly felt the influence of one of the
UK music scene’s best-kept secrets.
Today, any musician, artist, writer, or budding entrepreneur
can quickly set up a crowdfunding campaign using established specialist
companies like PledgeMusic and Kickstarter. Of course, this wasn’t always the
case and previously, artists in need of finance and exposure had little choice
but to sign their rights away in often exploitative and one-sided business
deals. It can be argued that every artist today owes Marillion a debt of
gratitude because now there is another way forward.
As far back as the late 1990s, Marillion’s fans sponsored an
entire US tour responding to an appeal posted on the fledgling Internet,
donating $60,000. In 1997 the band responded creating its own website (the
first rock ‘n’ roll website in the UK) and began what was to change the
landscape of music. With the support of its passionate fans, Marillion bypassed
the conventional music industry, took control of its future, and forged its own
path, naming their album marillion.com, banishing the spectre of record company
pressure and influence once and for all. Marillion launched its own record
label, the aptly named Intact imprint. In so doing, the band freed itself up to
produce some of the finest music of its career.
In 2001, Anoraknophobia saw Marillion take the
groundbreaking step of asking fans to pre-order an album a full 12 months
before release. Anyone doing so would receive a specially packaged CD, which
would include their name in the “Thanks” list. An amazing 12,000 people signed
up, helping not only to finance the recording, but also to create a budget to
launch the album. In doing so, the band invented “Crowdfunding”. This was
anything but a one-time event and the band has since funded a number of albums
this way. The crowd-funded business model has since been embraced globally to
finance music, film and art which otherwise might never have existed.
Marillion’s music is, by its nature, tough to sum-up but
perhaps can be approximately described as musically-experimental-yet-emotional
Rock, married to thought provoking, soulful lyrics – a powerful and moving
cocktail which, for those who “get it”, elicits extraordinary devotion. Its
global fan base is impressive and hyper-engaged, with fans often travelling
thousands of miles to attend live shows. Little wonder then, that the band was
well-placed to harness this faith and trust to provide an alternative way of
operating.
On September 17th 2012, Marillion released its 17th studio
album, Sounds That Can’t Be Made. During that same year, the band toured
extensively in North America, South America, and Europe.
After over thirty years, the band shows no signs of slowing
down and new generations of young fans are discovering the music for
themselves. And there’s plenty of it. With a catalogue of 17 albums behind
them, having written music that draws on every genre Marillion can be
considered Progressive not just musically, but in just about every sense.
The band is unique not only for what it has done, but how it
has done it. Over the course of its career, Marillion has displayed little
regard to the vagaries of the musical fashion police or mainstream radio but
innovated the ways and means to stand apart from music-business pressure, media
pressure and its attendant artistic compromises.
In 2015, Marillion returned to the studio to begin writing
its 18th studio album, which is scheduled for release in 2016 with a world tour
in the planning stages for 2016. Marillion have recently announced that they
have joined forces with PledgeMusic for this release thereby endorsing
PledgeMusic as the foremost platform within the Crowdfunding model.
The band has evolved into a vibrant and international
musical force. To those who already love Marillion, the band is something
special. To the uninitiated, it’s a potential love affair waiting to happen.
Fear is released Friday, September 23, 2016. Marillion have scheduled a rare tour North America in October and November 2016.
