it used to be that the only way to sell music was on completely useless crap. like weird tape, or dumb plastic discs, or even clunkier vinyl discs. whatever it was, it was something that served absolutely no other utilitarian or aesthetic purpose than simply to host music. then, of course, digital media came along and liberated music from this contrived confinement, and everyone (not employed by a record label) was overjoyed that now you no longer had to sell music on SOMETHING. but i think the really cool part of this liberation from the tape and discs is that now you can sell music on ANYTHING.

dropcards has the right idea, to start:

1. Upload:
Sign up for a Dropcards account and upload your digital media. Create a Dropcards profile or place a redemption widget right on your own website.
2. Design:
Upload your card artwork and we’ll print and ship you high quality plastic download cards with a unique Access Code on the back along with the URL where the card holder can redeem the card.
3. Distribute:
Sell or distribute your cards! The card holder will log on to your website and enter their card’s Access Code to download your media successfully bridging the gap between the physical and digital world.

and while this option is super primed to take full advantage of physical-world impulse buy potential, ultimately it’s still just selling music on an otherwise pretty much useless piece of plastic.

so then, just this week in fact, dropcards introduced “dropdrives”:

“Committed to finding creative physical solutions to the distribution of digital media, Dropcards, the leader in digital download cards is proud to introduce our new line of custom branded and pre-loaded high speed USB drives.

Dropdrives can be imprinted with any artist or company logo and pre-loaded with music, video, anything! We are rolling out our new line with twelve different shapes, 64mb up to 2GB of storage space and cool options such as auto-run and data lock with many more features to come.”

definitely much more useful, and would be way cool, had i not already seen a way WAY cooler application of the concept:

	Illuminated 1GB Crystal Key USB 2.0 Flash Drive Move, share and store your music, videos and files High Speed, USB 2.0 connection Wearable, comes with leather necklace cord Glows when you plug it in Pre-loaded with : Chapter 01

and while we’ve all got our “finding creative physical solutions to the distribution of digital media” hats on, the LA Times reports that Taser has come up with THIS accompanying fashion accessory:

Play your favorite songs while on the go, with this combination TASER C2 Holster and easy-to-use music player. Carry your TASER C2 and music in one convenient case. The 1 GB TASER MPH Holster offers you both security and music while on the go.

ooooookay….. well, while “mixing music with security” is super sketch, at least it illustrates my point: you can now sell music on ANYTHING!

it doesn’t even have to be on technology. dropcards happens to offer the option of slapping that access code onto a plastic card, but… we can put number sequences on pretty much anything:

if you’re a musician i’d say it might be time to reconsider your whole concept of “merch.”

and if you’re a brand i’d say you just developed the opportunity to become a distributor of digital content. of course, i trust you’re not thinking about it as an additional revenue source, right? but as a way to add credibility to your brand by connecting your consumers with their favorite artists? good thinkin’.

ps: