Source: Brad Whitford (left), Steven Tyler (center) and Joe Perry (right) performing live onstage (Mick Hutson/Redferns via Getty Images)
30 years ago today, June 27, 1994, Aerosmith became the first major band to allow fans to download a new track straight from the internet – for FREE! The track was Head First.
Their label, Geffen Records, had a new technology team that wanted to prove the feat could be accomplished, according to UltimateClassicRock.com. Head First was a leftover track from Aerosmith’s 1993 hit album, Get a Grip. The track had only been released previously in England, Japan and Spain on the B-side of the single Eat the Rich. Partnering with Geffen, internet provider CompuServe waived its hourly charge so customers could download the song for a week.
Entertainment Weekly wrote about the event in July of that year, which is definitely worth the read. The article reads like an internet time capsule now, transporting you back to a time where chat rooms were all the rage, hourly internet usage charges where a thing, long download times for small files were common and CompuServe was king.
It’s amazing how far the music industry and its relationship to the internet has come in 30 years.
