The Power of Free
It was in the summer of 2006 that singer/songwriter Derek Webb promoted one of his albums for free online, asking very little in return from the thousands of followers, fans, and musicians who provided as little information as name, email and postal code. In just a matter of months, the success of Derek’s musical generosity provided him with a list of 80,000 emails from those who had downloaded the final product. It was after this stunning response that Mr. Webb realized the potential in extrapolating this type of internet business model throughout the music industry.
Free music is nothing but commonplace in a post Spotify world, but back in the early years, Noisetrade.com was way ahead of its time when it came to downloadable music. The folks working behind the scenes quickly realized that that their model of free music let artists raise donation money for the content they wanted to give away, and recruit a fan base quicker and more substantially then the normal route that iTunes and CD sales provided. The musician is not only building a larger fan base, but building a “targeted” following. Allowing him to play shows in areas where he knows the people will receive him best.
Music isn’t the only source of media that the company is planning to stick to, as in recent months they have received commitment from dozens of authors and novelists who want to give their works to the people, so that their fans will hunger for more. This is a kind of business that could have only evolved from a music internet entertainment platform that is constantly evolving to benefit the consumer and the creator.
The Power of Free is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College