Independent artists (like us) have to cope with "the new world of free" that has taken over the music industry.
The value of music has become undefined, especially for smaller bands and artists. Should we give away everything for free? Should we give away nothing? How do we do this? I offer a suggestion, a way to slowly shift the expectations of music listeners.
Give away your new stuff, charge for your back catalog. Simple as that.
Offer your fans your latest track or album for free but for a limited time.
If people think they can get your music forever, there's no sense of
urgency. They probably won't download anything because they can always
do it later. The best way for prospective fans to get interested in
your music of for them to hear it again and again. If it's on their
iPod, you've got your foot in their door for future sales.
Here's what we're doing:
"Cancer
Killing Gemini releases one new free song a month.... forever. After
60 days, each song becomes back catalog and is no longer a free
download. Fans who stay in contact receive all our new material for
free, forever. As time passes, the back catalog grows. Fans who join
next year get the same deal, but since the catalog has grown, there is
more material for purchase. We're betting that fans who download free
songs month after month will eventually buy older tracks and also tell
their friends about a cool band that gives away new music every month.
We're taking a 'pay it forward' approach."
We have the luxury of
recording as we go, but the system works as long as you are creating
new music. Give away your album (or single) #2 but charge for album #1.
When album #3 comes out, never give away album #2 again.
I'm all
about free downloads, but there needs to be a system . This is a way
to continually reward your faithful fans with free stuff. Hopefully,
fans will return the favor with back catalog purchases, merch sales or
concert tickets. If this actually catches on, maybe we can change the public's perception of the value of independent musicians.
Thanks for reading,
Eric
Cancer Killing Gemini
-distorting your mainstream-
http://www.cancerkillinggemini.com
Boston, MA
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