Last month, Jack White, formerly of the White Stripes, released a new record via balloon.  He tied 1,000 flexi discs to bright blue, helium-filled carriages which were let loose over Nashville, to be dispersed wherever the wind might carry them. Most, it seems, landed on eBay, and  those not recovered by humans undoubtedly caused much bewilderment to nearby wildlife.  

While the ultimate goal of releasing recordings in such an extravagant and haphazard manner is known only to White (publicity stunt, most likely), that same month in Athens, two local artists also felt compelled to distribute music in an equally unconventional, albeit far more practical, way.

This April, Dain Marx and Hana Hay debuted Gumball Machine Records at Hendershot's Coffee Bar. The name says it all: for just 50 cents, you can purchase a download code from a local artist right out of a gumball machine. New releases appear each month, accompanied by collectible trinkets related to the featured song or artist. There are now music-filled gumball machines all around town, including Little Kings Shuffle Club, Flicker Theatre & Bar and Bizzaro Wuxtry, with more locations pending.

Prior to his move to Athens, Marx helped found and manage Stankhouse Records, an underground record label based out of his former home in Portland, OR. Flagpole spoke with Marx and Hay in Athens shortly after their Little Kings Gumball Records release party.

"I did Stankhouse for a while, and we released like 15 records," says Marx.  "Near the end of that, the trend started shifting to MP3 releases, so we started including MP3 download codes on pieces of paper with the records."

Gumball Bounty: Download Code and Trinket

While there is still some demand for vinyl, cassettes and CDs, listeners are increasingly experiencing music digitally. This proves advantageous in some respects, because download codes are cheaper and easier to produce than physical recordings. However, distributing the codes in some meaningful, tangible form is a challenge. Pieces of paper with download information handed out at concerts were often discarded.

"People didn't know what they were," says Hay. Adds Marx, "People acted like we were handing them trash. I even had one guy try to tell me he only listened to music that he downloaded.  After I told him that the paper I gave him was for a free download, he seemed into the idea."

Marx and Hay stewed on the idea for several months, considering various methods of distributing digital music in a more interesting physical form. They considered stickers, pins and even etching codes onto small sculptures. Eventually, they were inspired by a gumball machine full of novelty toys that formerly occupied a local house venue.

With a little help from eBay, the pair soon had four gumball machines to fill with an eclectic mix of local music and other surprises. A complete list of participating artists, as well as contact information for bands wishing to take part, is available at www.gumballmachinerecords.com.

"We like that this brings lots of different cliques of music together in a box filled with swag and random fun stuff," says Marx.  "And our release shows have brought together groups of people who wouldn't normally be at the same place."

Presently, Marx and Hay are considering a variety of options for future releases. They are sifting through submissions for the coming month and are planning to re-release the previous two months' worth of material to coincide with AthFest. A somewhat more traditional "best of Gumball Machine Records" compilation on CD or vinyl is also being considered for release in the near future.

With these tentative plans and 19 local bands already onboard (including Casper and the Cookies, Helen Scott and a Humms side project called The Ice Creams), Gumball Records is off to a promising start.  The goal right now is to make Gumball Machine Records more self-sufficient and focus on getting more machines and more releases out to the public. In the meantime, the current fleet should give local music fans plenty of tasty audio morsels to chew on.