Jack White’s label launches digital subscription service

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The motto of Third Man Records is “Your turntable’s not dead”, which is an apt reflection of label boss and White Stripes frontman Jack White’s carefully-cultivated luddite status when it comes to new technology.

Only last week, he was telling the Guardian that “I want to be part of the resurgence of things that are tangible, beautiful and soulful, rather than just give in to the digital age”. Which is slightly strange, because his label has just launched something called The Vault – a digital, online music subscription service.

For $7 a month, subscribers get first dibs on gig tickets; exclusive streaming video content from Third Man artists (including the White Stripes, the Raconteurs and White’s new band The Dead Weather); access to chat rooms, pay-per-view live gigs, and “exclusive writings and messages” from the artists.

For $20 a month, Third Man will throw in exclusive physical goodies – a vinyl album, single and a t-shirt every three months – which won’t be available anywhere else. Fans can also register their Twitter accounts on The Vault to be notified when new content is available. The service is being powered by Modlife.

It’s a good example of an artist-helmed label looking to generate new revenue streams by using digital in an innovative way. More interestingly, a lot of this stuff – from chat-rooms and artist blogs through to streamed content – is more usually given away for free. Larger labels will be watching with interest to see if Third Man can make decent money by charging for it.