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Moby On the Economics Of Free Music

Best Selling Track Is Available As A Free Download 07-Jul-09

Moby may be throwing traditional economics out the window with his latest release, Shot in the Back of the Head, from his upcoming album, Wait For Me.

Moby explains:

here’s something funny: the best selling itunes track is shot in the back of the head. Why is that funny? Because its the track we’ve been giving away for free for the last 2 months and that we’re still givng away for free. Odd.

Why do people pay for something that they can download for free?

Maybe it's because of the convenience of iTunes. Maybe it's because of habit.

But there's more to it than that.

Free music is becoming the key for musicians to get their foot in the door. Free music is the key to getting heard.

Fortunately for musicians, Moby's Shot in the Back of the Head demonstrates that, once you've got people's ear, they're a lot more willing to open up their wallets.

Links

Moby's comments at The Lefsetz Letter

James Lewin
Twitter @podcasting_news

1 Comments... Post a comment original story

s r dhain Said...

ive read various takes on this particular scenario in various quarters, and :-

1)moby has a LARGE READY MADE fanbase, so viral marketing has been done in the process of building up that fanbase.

2) Not that i enjoy saying this, but moby can probably afford to give away the track for zilch, without losing too much sleep. However, the sales of the very same track are probably indicative of being part of a bundle or perhaps the album itself. In effect, would YOU download something for free AND THEN pay for it? perhaps you would if it was at a much higher bitrate, but otherwise?...

giving away music free is a hit and miss affair; the benefits are proportionate to the fan base you may already have, as generating new fans is STILL dependant on the other p's in marketing.

16-Jul-09 06:33 AM