Editorial: “Free” Has a Cost

 

“…If you’re giving away music, at least value your product – and yourself – enough to collect something in return…”

 

 

I generally believe the old adage, “you get what you pay for”, but these days does it really apply to music anymore?

In my rant last week about U2, I briefly mentioned the idea that “a band of multi-millionaires who scored a cool $100 million to give away their album” is NOT a model to encourage in this industry. (Just today I learned The Beatles are getting in on the act, too). There are countless bands who can’t afford that, yet fans have just been told “even music from the most famous artists should be free” – and how many of them are thinking / caring whether at any stage the band got paid or not?

As musicians, we are CONSTANTLY giving things away for free, our recordings, our performances, our merchandise, our dignity – oh wait, that last one is just U2.

Really, guys? Hmm.

The “incentive” is that the exposure will earn more fans …um, who then get everything for free? yada yada yada.

This is not evil in theory. Who doesn’t love a free sample? Key word being “sample.”

I adore gift bags of makeup in trial sizes, and never miss a chance to follow the ‘Yellow Brick Road’ at the Royal Show to collect a swag of goodies. But even in these cases, it’s not technically free. Those ‘gifts’ come with a purchase. Somebody pays, somebody profits. And if I like the free sample enough, I’ll go buy the full size product. Mission accomplished.

There’s another scenario at the Royal Show that’s not quite as appealing. My friend runs her own business making tasty condiments + dips, and one year she set up a booth in the ‘Tasting SA’ section. She was horrified. Free samples are pretty much expected there, but the locust-like hordes that swarmed past her booth barely looked up to catch the name of her business. Grab a bite, move to the next booth, repeat. A huge waste of time & money on her part. I can’t help thinking this is kind of how it feels to be an independent musician sometimes…

If you’re giving away music, at least value your product – and yourself – enough to collect something in return. Email addresses are good commodities, for instance. In the Yellow Brick Road, every ‘free’ item came with a brochure about the producer, so my eventual attention is the commodity. Risky, but better than my poor friend’s example.

Playing for free is a trickier topic (and is admittedly a bugbear of mine). If you MUST play without pay, make sure you actually leverage that opportunity in a way that’s meaningful. Invite industry to the show and use it as a showcase, or really plug yourself to the audience and get them to join your mailing list – or hey, to buy your music!

(A quick aside to venue & festival bookers: if you only book bands who offer to play for free or vastly undersell themselves, maybe you DO get what you pay for in terms of quality…).

Some bands give away their entire catalogue, but they make a killing at live shows in merch and door sales. Fair enough. There’s not one model to fit all. But in each case, if YOU don’t decide what your effort is worth, the audience will. The latter actually worked in Radiohead’s case, and plenty of bands offer the ‘pay what you want’ option on Bandcamp. Again, that’s fine. At least the audience has to put some thought into it.

Radiohead. Not really my thing, but they do make ‘cool’ seem effortless
(which is how ‘cool’ should be).

But if audiences are constantly TOLD all music is free – free meaning $0 – then it’s worth… $0.

By all means give things away when you need to do so. Just know the true cost.

– Dr Elizabeth Reid
Music SA Digital Marketing Manager

 Comments welcome below.

Editorial: The U2 ‘Virus’ – Marketing Genius or Jerk Move?

 

“…credibility, integrity, humility – these are traits that make me respect an artist (or company)…”

 

I had a different editorial planned for today, but you can’t take 5 steps without someone mentioning the “U2 Virus” scandal, so here are my two cents…

For those who haven’t heard, U2 and Apple struck a deal whereby the band got paid $100 million [!] to essentially give Apple their new LP, and in turn the latter ‘gifted’ it to 500 million iTunes account holders. Meaning, the LP simply turned up in your iTunes library for free, whether you wanted it or not.

My personal Facebook page has been enjoying a healthy debate on the ethics of this marketing ploy, and it was certainly a hot topic at ye olde pub last night. Why all the fuss?

There’s a camp that views this as genius – not only a way for the band to grab a mountain of cash without spending a cent on marketing, but a way to reconnect with old fans or make potential new ones. An $100k profit is a pretty good incentive for not having to worry about selling your LP.

To some, it’s also perceived as merely a new format for the free giveaway model, likening it to the bonus CD that comes with a magazine, or getting a free “cassette” (Google it, kids) when you purchase a “walkman” (ditto).  In this opinion, the delivery mechanism for the digital LP just reflects modern technology.

“U2, shoving their music down your throat since the early ’80s”

Photo: Snopes
(alas, it’s a fabrication, but made me chuckle anyway)

I say, it’s the delivery mechanism, AND the way it was handled, that make it an epic fail.  (And I believe this to hold true whether or not the LP eventually soars to #1, although apparently they’re only eligible for those stats after the LP is available everywhere… Anyway.)

Firstly, the delivery. There must be something in the lengthy iTunes ‘terms and conditions’ that allows them to access my account to deliver new material, whether it’s initially just in the Cloud or not. Otherwise, how is this even legal? To my knowledge it hasn’t happened before this, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t give them the ‘right.’ HOWEVER, I think it still feels like a violation of privacy. It makes me uncomfortable and I now distrust the platform. Is that a good result?

As for the ‘free giveaway’ model, I find it’s more akin to someone coming into my house and putting a CD amongst my collection on the shelf without my initial knowledge, permission, or desire, then telling me it’s a “present.” Even if somehow, sometime I’d given them keys, this is still creepy with a capital CREEP.

And it gets worse. I only just discovered that for a short period of time, you couldn’t even get rid of it. As a friend pointed out, it’s like they ‘glued it to the shelf’. It was only after a big enough backlash that Apple set up a special page with instructions of how to remove the LP. You can’t just delete it like any other file. Again, creepy.

But it looks so “innocent”…

Photo: Opt Out

 

Sure enough Apple and U2 considered these risks, and decided that the cash & publicity (good or bad?) was worth annoying someone like me who wasn’t going to buy the LP anyway. Why would my annoyance matter to a band like U2 or company like Apple? The phrase ‘crying all the way to the bank’ comes to mind. But credibility, integrity, humility – these are traits that make me respect an artist (or company). I can’t truly like an act, or their music, if I don’t respect at least something about them.

Maybe it’s much ado about nothing. Maybe I’m part of the ‘misguided overreaction‘. What’s the big deal? I you don’t want it you can (now) get rid of it. BUT – what if this opens more doors? Think of the 10 bands you loathe the most, then consider how you’d feel if their new material kept arriving unsolicited and cluttering up your music library, just because they received a big payout from Apple. The horror. These are some scary floodgates.

Speaking of which, we haven’t even touched on the ‘message’ this sends to people about music being given away free. If the world’s richest band (I’m assuming) starts gifting their work, what about those who can’t afford to do so? That’s a whole other blog…

A friend used 2 words that resonated with me, and I reckon do a fine job of summing up the whole fiasco: “arrogance”, and “disgust”. If they’d simply sent an email saying you could download the new LP for free if you wanted to, that wouldn’t have upset me (notwithstanding the point above). MAYBE I would have checked it out. As for the music? I have no idea if it’s good or not. I deleted it.

 

[Note: Recommended reading for a particularly erudite take on the matter (thanks Darby!) : Wired >>]

– Dr Elizabeth Reid
Music SA Digital Marketing Manager

Editorial: It’s Called the “Music Business” for a Reason

 

“…Being great at business won’t make you a good musician. But a good musician can go a long way by doing great business…”

 

The vast majority of musicians would eagerly jump at the chance to make it a full-time career, myself included. That’s a good sign – it means you are truly passionate about your art.

However.

For music to ever support you in this way, it is absolutely essential that you approach it as a business.

Sure there are rare occasions where someone is plucked from relative obscurity and molded into a star, and some pretty average artists can be given an armchair ride through the journey. But even in these cases, SOMEONE is doing the ‘business’ side of things that creates this success.

It’s unavoidable – but it needn’t be seen as a ‘necessary evil’ either. Admittedly I have to give myself a pep talk every now and then. I’m terrified of sharks, but as a shy gal, I’d rather go cage diving with the biggest white pointer than do ‘networking’ (come to think of it, there are some parallels…). Yet I know it’s for my own good, and the alternative is that nothing will ever happen. Unacceptable.

I’m inspired by some SA artists who are making the effort to go to Bigsound next week. It’s the biggest music conference/showcase opportunity in the Australian industry, and attracts VIPs from all over the world. As an Adelaide act, it can be quite expensive to get to Brisbane and stay for a week. It’s also a great investment, if you approach it in a strategic way.

Thinking of “strategies” during the
live showcases, Bigsound 2013
Photo: Elleni Toumpas

There are lots of parties. All night parties. Believe it or not, some of the best ‘business’ can happen at them, especially in terms of networking. That shouldn’t be your only angle, though. The savvy, organised and brave acts will seek out meetings with top agents, managers, label reps etc, and score coveted one on one time that couldn’t really occur anywhere else. I spoke to such a gal last night, and she has a very ‘business-minded’ approach to the event and is well prepared. I predict good things to come of this…

Several years ago, another formerly-local gal was working the room at Bigsound with aplomb. At one point, in her own inimitable way, she said something to a gang of us SA folks along the lines of “You’re great but I can’t talk you anymore. I KNOW you. I have to go find people I don’t know.” Fair enough, and she was right. She now makes a career out of managing one of the hardest working bands in the country.

Being great at business won’t make you a good musician. But a good musician can go a long way by doing great business.

Whether you like it or not, your reputation is made up of both. Throw certain names around in front of some industry people and you’ll hear stuff like “Well, they’re good, but they’re really disorganised and are a nightmare to book.” You don’t want that.

If you’re serious about your career, get serious about the business. You’ve got nothing to lose, and potentially everything to gain.

See you at Bigsound!

Note: You can keep up with Music SA’s team at the conference by following our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

– Dr Elizabeth Reid
Music SA Digital Marketing Manager

Music SA Weekly News: Supporting Students

This week I had the pleasure of being a guest of Immanuel College for the Western Futures Awards Night.

One of the fantastic things about attending this event was my discovery that there are many businesses across our city who contribute to building career opportunities and new skills for students at a high school level. The Awards Night paid tribute to their impressive efforts.

This prompted me to look closely at the outcomes of our very own Music SA training opportunities. Can I just brag for a minute? Music SA teaches approximately 60 students per year, who gain new music industry skills as taught by practicing industry professionals. A particularly great thing about our courses is that many students continue on to further study in music. In some cases they have started successful businesses and are now working in the industry. I think that’s superb.

As General Manager of Music SA, one of the most rewarding things is seeing students you have taught who are now working in the industry. It’s fabulous to see them at gigs when you have a night out, or to meet them in the street and hear stories of how they are doing huge things on an international scale.

So my message this week is to remember this: you never know the influence you have on a person’s life and where that may take them. Always be mindful that whoever you meet, there is a chance that what you say can bring about significant life changing moments.

Have a great week.

– David Grice
Music SA General Manager

You can contact David at david@musicsa.com.au