How free media brought in $4.2 million in sales
It’s not a giant leap to draw parallels between indie musicians and authors. To wit; I’d like to introduce you to Corey Smith, a new personal hero of mine. He gives his music away for free on his site. And he sells that music — the very same music — on iTunes. When he takes his free music down, his sales on iTunes go down.
That bears repeating. When he takes his free music down, his sales on iTunes go down.
Cory is now making his living as a musician, resulting in gross receipts of $4.2 million last year. Most of that cash comes from concerts. Tickets to those shows go for $5. As in, five dollars.
So let’s go over this again:
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He gives his music away for free, or you can buy it
He uses no-brainer pricing to make his concerts accessible to just about everyone. And all of their friends
Phase Three: Profit.
Read the story on TechDirt. Then see if you can think of any ways YOU can work in this brave new world. I hope a few authors and publishing houses are paying attention.
February 1st, 2009 at 9:28 am
As someone intimately familiar with how to get *ahem* free music, I know I’m always willing to pay for it if I see the musician has it for free somewhere else.
Call it guilt, a need to reward him or just a sense of goodwill, but this type of thing has long been supported by unscrupulous kids of the Napster generation.
Simply put, if we like you, we’ll buy more stuff. Artists should remember they’re as above their fans as they used to be.
February 1st, 2009 at 10:19 am
Awesome! It is always good to see proof that somebody can make money even though they give their stuff away for free.
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:30 am
I am one who definitely buys the music and books even after I have gotten them for free. Scott Sigler and mc chris are two examples of artists that I have paid for even after getting the bulk of the material for free. I enjoy what they do and I would like them to continue doing it. If they don’t get paid for it they can’t continue doing it full time so I consider it a win win scenario. They get paid for doing what they love and I am rewarded with entertainment that I want.