Cooktown singer-songwriter Ella Hartwig is risking it all by making a controversial move for the release of her debut album, “Take Me South”. Photo: Callum Johnston Films.
In today’s digital world of music, Cooktown’s Ella Hartwig has made the controversial decision to release her debut album as a physical exclusive.
Putting months of work and tens of thousands of dollars on the line in a bid to better connect with fans, the 21-year-old singer-songwriter said “Take Me South” would not be available anywhere online, and instead, listeners would need to go retro and purchase a CD.
“The digital release world is so overly saturated, and I just want this album to be quite a big change in my career,” Ms Hartwig explained.
“I wanted there to be something special about it; I didn’t want to just send it off into the digital world, and have it just get lost inside the Spotify abyss.
“It’s really scary and unknown and very interesting, but I feel like this is the most perfect way to do it.”
As a small artist, Ms Hartwig said she had seen countless friends put everything they had into a single or an album, only for it to disappear in the streaming service sea.
“I really wanted this album to be a bigger story than itself, because I didn’t want it to be just another small-town-girl-releases-an-album kind of thing,” she said.
“I moved 2,000 kilometres away from my hometown to chase my dream, and I don’t want to risk just letting this fall into nothing; I believe in my music – my art deserves to be believed in, and it’s about giving my children – my songs – the best life they can have.
“I’m holding this CD in my hand and thinking this is such a milestone in my career; it’s 13 songs and it’s only 44 minutes to some people, but to me, it’s my heart and soul, it’s 17 months of recording, and it’s $30,000 of my own money that I’ve worked hard for.”
If you think the artist is delusional for trying to sell CDs in 2024, you are not alone.
Ms Hartwig said she was warned by a friend that not many people even owned CD players anymore, and she herself was “freaking out”, but was glad she followed her gut after the initial hometown release.
“I’ve been selling more than I thought I would, and defining your success with sales and all the numbers is a big part of it, but for me, it was never really about how many CDs I sold – that’s not very realistic or practical, because a lot of people don’t actually have CD players,” she said.
“For me, it’s more about being able to connect with my fans, and knowing who the CDs are going to, and I can actually post it to them and be a part of that process.
“Thankfully, I’ve gotten a much better response than I thought I would, and it just makes me so happy, because recording an album, there’s just so much work involved.”
The singer said she has loved getting to really know her listeners through the CDs, adding that the first batch was almost sold out.
“I had a lady, who, at a gig, bought one, and then she was like ‘my daughter won’t share it with me, so I need to buy another one off you’, and just yesterday, I sent one off to Sweden, which is just crazy,” Ms Hartwig said.
“These people get my CDs from me, and I know who they are – they told me their dogs’ names and stuff like that, and you just don’t get that from the statistics and analytics of streaming services.
“You can see age demographics and that kind of thing, but I don’t know that it’s Richard or Perry requesting one for their nieces.
“We’re almost at the end of the first run of CDs, which are a little bit different like a limited edition, and we’re chatting about creating a second edition now.”
Fourteen-year-old Ella Hartwig only dreamed of releasing an album as she performed for the Cooktown community seven years ago. Photo: Supplied.
