Comments on: Does giving away your book, ala DRM-free music, make business sense? http://www.digitalsolid.com/2008/06/27/does-giving-away-your-book-ala-drm-free-music-make-business-sense/ Marketing Technology Musings and Tips by Jeff Larche Sat, 17 Sep 2011 02:41:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jeff Larche http://www.digitalsolid.com/2008/06/27/does-giving-away-your-book-ala-drm-free-music-make-business-sense/comment-page-1/#comment-4486 Jeff Larche Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:34:53 +0000 http://www.digitalsolid.com/?p=369#comment-4486 I agree, Ron, that the Radiohead move was risky, since so much money was at stake. They are also nearly unique in the industry for their rabidly devoted fan base and the fact that critics and fans agree to a surprising extent that Radiohead's albums are uniformly good. I say nearly unique. Come to think of it, this could describe The Grateful Dead as well. Maybe the Radiohead giveaways will be a larger success than The Dead's! I agree, Ron, that the Radiohead move was risky, since so much money was at stake. They are also nearly unique in the industry for their rabidly devoted fan base and the fact that critics and fans agree to a surprising extent that Radiohead’s albums are uniformly good.

I say nearly unique. Come to think of it, this could describe The Grateful Dead as well. Maybe the Radiohead giveaways will be a larger success than The Dead’s!

]]> By: Ron Shevlin http://www.digitalsolid.com/2008/06/27/does-giving-away-your-book-ala-drm-free-music-make-business-sense/comment-page-1/#comment-4485 Ron Shevlin Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:22:46 +0000 http://www.digitalsolid.com/?p=369#comment-4485 The value of a tactic -- like giving something away, e.g., -- can only be judged in the context of the overall business model. The Grateful Dead "gave away" their music for 30 years, letting fans record concerts and freely share those recordings. Towards the later years of their run, they were among the highest grossing rock bands. They made their money from the concerts, and paraphernalia sales related to the concerts. And that's one big reason why they built an infrastructure to distribute tickets. Was it a good LONG-TERM move for Radiohead to "give away" their music? We'll see. Especially next time around when fans might expect free music again, and might not get it. The value of a tactic — like giving something away, e.g., — can only be judged in the context of the overall business model.

The Grateful Dead “gave away” their music for 30 years, letting fans record concerts and freely share those recordings. Towards the later years of their run, they were among the highest grossing rock bands.

They made their money from the concerts, and paraphernalia sales related to the concerts. And that’s one big reason why they built an infrastructure to distribute tickets.

Was it a good LONG-TERM move for Radiohead to “give away” their music? We’ll see. Especially next time around when fans might expect free music again, and might not get it.

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