We've looked at free music on Hypebot from almost every angle in recent weeks, but leave it to uber-marketer Seth Godin to find a new one: too much. In this post "Too Much Free", which first appeared on his if-you-care-about-marketing-then-you-have-to-read blog, Godin cautions against too much free.
While Godin was not specifically writing about music, he certainly could have been. Giving away a free track or even an album is no longer a "breakthrough" idea. Givng music away is "sample-this" free, but with so much free (legal and otherwise) available, will more free music- your free music - have any impact? If not, how can you change, add to, or (gasp!) maybe even charge for music in way that makes it matter.
SETH GODIN: If you want to know who’s a newbie on a film set, just watch what happens at lunch. Major films have huge buffets laid out for cast and crew, and the newcomers can’t resist. It’s FREE! Over time, of course, the old-timers come to the conclusion that it's just lunch, and the crew gets a bit more jaded and learns some self-restraint as well.
The first time a previously expensive good or service is made free, we’re drawn to it precisely because of the freeness. The fifth time or tenth time, not so much.
Free online has two distinct elements, then...
Breakthrough free, like the first free ebook or the first free email service, and sample-this free, which decreases the cost of trial and lowers boundaries of the spread of an idea.
But they shouldn’t be confused. As the market for free gets more crowded, we’ll see more and more people promoting their free products, stuff that people used to have pay for. A complete shift from ‘you will pay’ to 'it is free' to ‘I will pay for ads to alert you it’s free' to ultimately, 'I will pay you to try it'.
Free by itself is no longer enough to guarantee much of anything. (Here's Kate's take, which I just discovered.)
Reprinted with permission from Seth's blog.
HYPEBOT: Follow Godin's link to Kate Bradley. She's asking all the right questions:
1. What’s the effectiveness of your free? To lure in new fans? To solidify current fans?
2. What’s the strategy of your free? Is your free creative? Why do I want it over someone else’s?
3. What’s the bottom line of your free? To get me to pay for something else?
Free can’t be JUST free anymore. And how the hell can you beat free?
