Musicians cash in through other media

Intergalactic warfare. Near-extinction of the human race. Love, murder, revenge. No, this isn’t the latest installment of Star Wars or some other new science fiction movie; it’s the plotline of a four part concept album and accompanying series of comic books by Coheed and Cambria.

Critics laud the New York-based prog rock band for their unique vocal stylings and hard-nosed guitars. But most of the praise they have received stems from the storylines of both their two newest releases, The Second Stage Turbine Blade (2002) and In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003), and the band’s two upcoming albums.

To further explain the saga of a man and a woman named Coheed and Cambria, the band has decided to release a series of four comic books to be eventually combined into a graphic novel. The creation of this series of comic books is indicative of a growing trend: musical artists creating lucrative tie-ins to accompany a new album or series of discs.

Rock bands aren’t the only ones jumping on the bandwagon. Pop-punk superstars Green Day are selling ring tones of tracks from their upcoming album American Idiot for $2.49 a pop. My Chemical Romance, a New Jersey band known more for its emotive outbursts during live shows than its technological ability, has released a computer game based on the storyline of their newest album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. The game can be found for free on the band’s website.

As record companies find themselves in more financial trouble and able to depend increasingly less on traditional CD sales in order to boost their profits, these "tie-ins" may soon become attached to every album release.

And these products stand to be extremely lucrative. Coheed and Cambria’s first comic book, Second Stage Turbine Blade, became available for pre-order several weeks ago on the band’s website and at their merchandise booth at this summer’s Vans Warped Tour for $4. The band has already had to limit the maximum pre-order quantity to 3 copies per person.

In addition, last year people spent $3.1 billion worldwide on ring tones according to Consect, a mobile market research and consulting firm. And for every music recording used by a phone company, a record label can receive up to 50% of the eventual profit. Ultimately, the release of just a few highly-downloaded song clips, could provide millions of dollars for a record label. So don’t be surprised when the song you have stuck in your head ends up being the same tune as someone’s cell phone ring or part of the soundtrack to your cousin’s favorite new video game.