MOS DEFinitely risky

This post is about this: http://thepiratesdilemma.com/punk-capitalism/mos-def-launches-album-on-t-shirt

The blurb: Mos Def is releasing his latest album through a t-shirt, buy the shirt, get the album.

The front is the cover artwork, and the back has the track listing, the tag has a download link to get the songs. Is this a brilliant move or just some clever antics to make a point. I'd say a bit of both. Ever since Radiohead released In Rainbows as pay as you want, artists have been looking for a way to connect with the modern world of distribution. Nine Inch Nails had their Ghosts album released through the Internet with a huge turnout. Danger Mouse just recently sold blank CD's with the text: 'For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.' Now Mos Def has taken his (or his publicist's) approach to creative releases.

From what I get, it is making a point to the music industry who's idea of combating losses in CD sales is to sell more t-shirts. And when t-shirts cost at least twice that of the CD, sure, that's a good business model. But what about the fans that have to fork out $50 to get a CD and a t-shirt? Is that fair to them? Hardly. I'd say that instead of worrying about losses in CD sales due to pirating music, worry about making the artists happy and giving the customer what they want. I know I would want a T-shirt that is a statement, and Mos Def is definitely making a statement here. Well done.