WK 3THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010

Farming

By BEN SISARIO

IN January 1992, Nirvana’s “Nevermind” re-placed Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” asNo. 1 on the Billboard album chart, and theS-word began to fly, from critics, old fansand anyone else whose favorite under-

ground band had been scrubbed and neuteredon its way to the top: “sellout.”

It’s a damaging slur for any group whose val-ues are forged in indie rock’s anticommercial co-coon, implying loss of principles and abandon-ment of a faithful base. But whenever the single-digit altitudes of the chart are in sight, it be-comes an unavoidable risk.

So when Arcade Fire, the Canadian band thatis the current standard-bearer for do-it-yourselfmusical virtue, hit No. 1 last week with its album“The Suburbs” — replacing Eminem’s “Recov-ery” — there was bound to be an outburst. Crit-ics, old fans and various naysayers worriedabout the significance of the triumph, and ques-tioned the D.I.Y.-ness of marketing efforts like aweeklong $3.99 deal at Amazon.com and paidpromotion on Twitter. “ ‘Corporate indie,’ any-one?” wrote one tattooed fan.

Not everyone was a hater, of course; plenty ofsupporters, including other bands on ArcadeFire’s American record label, Merge, sent their140-character congratulations. But just as Nirva-na’s success prompted fans to wonder whetherso-called alternative music had any meaningonce it became culturally dominant, ArcadeFire’s No. 1 has raised questions about what itmeans to be indie.

In many ways, the market that Nirvana con-quered could not be more different from today’s.

In 1992 the music industry was financially strongbut in need of a musical reboot, and Nirvana’sgradual climb to No. 1 — bypassing not onlyJackson but also Garth Brooks, U2, MC Hammerand Guns N’ Roses — represented a broad shiftin mainstream tastes. With each additional mil-lion in sales, “Nevermind” convinced anotherrecord executive to sign that flannel-wearing,distortion-pedal-stomping band whose demotape would otherwise have gone to the circularfile.

Now, with the music business weakened, andpowerful online marketing tools available to ev-eryone, the goal is not necessarily to go mul-

tiplatinum, but simply to be heard — and to be-come a Web trend.

“The Suburbs” sold 156,000 copies in the Unit-ed States in its first week, a quantity that mightnot have been enough for the Top 10 a decadeago. The number that irks critics the most isn’t156,000 but 1, with its visibility and the impliedvictory of reaching a commercial peak, no mat-ter how diminished it may be. Laura Ballance, afounder of Merge, told The Los Angeles Times,“The whole chart thing is kind of like sports.”

Yet Merge, and the band, still played thegame. Their plan to prepare fans for the all-important first week of sales included two shows

at Madison Square Garden; both sold out, andone was filmed for a live Webcast by the directorTerry Gilliam.

The Garden shows, the prominent Amazondiscount and the band’s entirely promotionalFacebook and Twitter accounts — don’t look formany Kanye West-style whimsical asides there— struck some fans as being no different fromthe kind of mercenary sales campaigns theymight see for, well, Eminem.

In today’s music industry, however, everyband, big or small, has to push as hard as pos-sible. And most do. What separates Arcade Firefrom most others isn’t the band’s tactics; it’sthat those tactics have worked.

“Everyone wants to be more popular; youdon’t want to be less popular,” said Doug Brod,editor of Spin magazine. “So you take what stepsyou need to take to get there. What they’re do-ing, people may find it vulgar, but I think they’redoing it the right way.”

Ultimately, the most indie thing about ArcadeFire might simply be that it owns its means ofproduction. Unlike most bands, which turn overmany of their rights to a record label in ex-change for financial support, Arcade Fire ownsits music and licenses it to labels around theworld. (“The Suburbs” was also No. 1 on theBritish, European and, of course, Canadiancharts.)

Mr. Brod points out that the band doesn’t sellits songs for commercials. The last group yousaw at your local 250-person capacity club, onthe other hand, might be desperate to cut thatkind of deal.

And as much as No. 1 might be an impressivetrophy of success, it won’t be relevant to ArcadeFire for long. On Thursday, Billboard reportedthat this week’s chart, released on Wednesday,will most likely be topped once again by Emi-nem.

A Hit Record, and an Indie-Rock Identity CrisisArcade Fire is No. 1 on the Billboard charts.Does that mean it no longer qualifies as analternative band?

CHRISTINNE MUSCHI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Modern Band Arcade Fire’s success provoked criticism from old fans.

Sources: United Egg Producers (production statistics); Dept. of Agriculture (prices); Humane Society of the United States (state rules)

SPACE ALLOTMENT The United Egg Producers, a national trade group, set guidelines for minimum cage floor space: 67 square inches per bird, depicted here at actual size. Cages (below) typically hold 6 birds.

COMPLIANCE United Egg Producers estimates that 15 percent of U.S. egg-laying hens are raised by farmers who do not participate in its voluntary animal welfare program or meet its minimum standards. These birds are squeezed into an average space of about 45 to 50 square inches apiece, or about 7 by 7 inches.

PRICE PER DOZEN $0.93 (white) and $0.97 (brown), the average advertised grocery price of large Grade A eggs from caged hens as of Friday, according to the Agriculture Department.

of all eggs produced in the United States are from hens that live in tightly packed battery cages, with no way to roam outside.

of U.S. eggs are from cage-free birds, which live exclusively indoors, in large barns.

PRICE PER DOZEN $2.37 (white) and$3.33 (brown).

WHY CAGE-FREE COSTS MORE One organic grower says that stuffing birds into cages is cheaper than giving them even a little more space to roam. Many people don’t approve of cage confinement, but “they’re basically asking for the cost of their food to go up,” said George L. Siemon, the CEO of the Organic Valley farmers cooperative. “You’re not going to produce eggs that sell for $1.50 a dozen without cages.”

Hens in Battery Cages Cage-Free Hens

THE NEW YORK TIMES

ROBERT F. BUKATY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

JOHN PATRIQUIN/PORTLAND PRESS HERALD, VIA A.P.

97% 2%

of U.S. eggs are from free-range birds that have the option to go outdoors. Animal welfare advocates say this is often a phantom access. Doors are small and don’t accommodate the whole flock, or they are open for limited times.

PRICE PER DOZEN $3.66 (brown, certified organic).

Free-Range Hens

1%

SPACE ALLOTMENT The United Egg Producers’ guidelines for cage-free space call for a minimum of 120 square inches per bird, depicted here at actual size.

Phase out hog gestation crates.

Phase out veal and hog crates.

Phase out veal and hog crates and give egg-laying hens more space. New rules in California, Michigan and Ohio will cover about 10% of the nation's eggs over the next 10 years.

Ohio will permit existing hen cages to remain.

STATES WITH RESTRICTIONS ON ANIMAL CONFINEMENT

MAINE

FLA.

MICH.OHIO

COLO.

ARIZ.

CALIF.

ORE.

Which came first — consumer preference for humane farming, or pressure from animal welfare advocates? Some combination of the two is driving big changes in the industrialized treatment of farm animals, including egg-laying hens, the vast major-

ity of which live out their lives packed tightly in “battery cages.”

Ohio, the second-largest producer of eggs after Iowa, is the latest to adjust its standards. Animal welfare advocates and farmers there agreed

recently to phase out small crates for gestating hogs and veal calves, and to ban new cages for egg-laying hens. (Existing cages can remain.)

Commercial egg farmers see an animal-rights agenda at work from “groups who are opposed to consumption of our products,” said Mitch Head, a spokesman for the United Egg Producers, a trade group. But the big producers also benefit from the growing demand for eggs from cage-free and

free-range birds. Most of those eggs, according to Mr. Head, come from the same large operations that use cages, not from smaller farms. Big farms already have the birds, expertise and transporta-tion in place — some hens just need to be released from their cages.

Here is how egg-laying hens — not chickens raised for meat — are confined on American farms. BILL MARSH

A Hen’s Space to Roost

Music

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