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In the extremely cluttered world of the Internet music space and its overwhelming proclivity towards featuring only the biggest artists on most of its sites, the Jango pay-for-play initiative, gives indie artists an inexpensive opportunity to help set themselves apart from the pack. The Internet is not a public air wave and thus payola statutes are not applicable. So the Internet is fair game just like cable channels. If I were an indie artist looking to gain any kind of edge over my competition and better monetize myself so I can survive on my music, this is a no brainer. Besides is this not the American way?
I think it would be crazy NOT to use it if you have the potential to get a ROI (return on investment) like the artist in the story. That is not much money at all. Hell, I find it hard to believe that anyone would think otherwise. And if you do, please share why.
If I were an artist, I definitely pay up and wouldn’t think twice about it. How many legit marketing opportunities for bands to expose themselves to new audiences – to get into fans’ worlds rather than dragging them into the band’s world? Damn right I’d love some guaranteed spins!
However, from Jango’s POV, how is this a sustainable business model? Sure, if one out of every 50 spins is paid-for, it could work. At what point do you decide to spin a song for quality and not for payment?
Admittedly, just because a song is played for pay does not mean it’s a bad song, but I’m sure most would agree that for every 1 great song, there are 1,000 mediocre ones, and for every 1 mediocre song, there are 10,000 more terrible ones. Odds are that a significant number of those paid spins are going to be less than stellar.
So then, what’s the fault tolerance for a listener’s attention? Even if the listener loves the format on a regular station, they may become disengaged if the DJ plays too much of an artist the listener doesn’t like, so it’s already a delicate balancing act. How many slots in the rotation can be given up for pay plays before a listener decides to tune out?
While it’s a great idea for indie artists and certainly worth a go for them, Jango’s success with this business model is very likely to be its demise.
This is a great idea. Simple too. The “fan” has the option to listen to and rate a new artist, so they have to be curious before deciding to interrupt their listening experience. That makes sense and engages only participating customers.
Companies and applications like this are promising to the future of online music as this industry needs a natural way to filter out the mediocrity, engage the die hard music fan, expand the artists fan base and make money to sustain the channel.
Personal thanks to Jango for making this a reality.