Singer-songwriter Thad Cockrell, who you may know as the frontman for indie pop band Leagues, is dropping a new solo album, The Kid, on Jan. 26. And it can be all yours… for $99.
Cockrell said on Instagram that he won’t be sharing the album to iTunes or Spotify. Instead, it will be available exclusively on his website and fans who purchase The Kid will receive a vinyl, a CD and a download code to listen to on any device.
“If I didn’t charge $99 for this album, I’d have to quit. And I don’t want to quit,” Cockrell said.
It’s a big risk for an indie artist, but as Cockrell explained in a previous Instagram post, this is the risk he has to take because of the “harsh reality of creating music today.”
“Making a living in music is tougher than ever,” Cockrell wrote. “Album sales don’t cut it. Streaming pays pennies. The result? Often times true creativity gets sidelined for what the algorithm wants.”
Cockrell wrote that he doesn’t want to rework his music “for the algorithm,” which is how he developed his risky business tactic.
“It’s a revolution against the music industry’s norms,” he shared. “It’s about giving fans the opportunity to truly value music as art and the artist behind it.”
Cockrell’s musical journey has endured for well over a decade, both as the frontman for Leagues and as a solo artist. He’s garnered a wide range of fans, including host of The Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon. In 2021, Fallon invited Cockrell on the show after discovering his music in a hardware store.
The Kid is available on January 26.
