creative deconstruction

Bands Offer to Pay Fans to Download New Album

Posted on 10. Apr, 2009 by refe in INNOVATION

Those who believe that free downloads have devalued music are going to love this:

In an effort to stand out from the flood of free music pouring onto the Internet these days, indie band Officer Roseland recently offered to pay fans $1 to download their new album Stimulus Package.

At MyStimulusPackage.org, fans can either take the $1 and run, or – for the more philanthropic listener – choose an option that automatically donates the $1 to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Regardless of which option a person chooses, the idea of free music is taken to a brand new level.

The scheme makes sense given the themes of the album, which take aim at the greed and commercialism of the music industry and the American culture that produced it. It is also a pretty clever way to set their album apart in a crowded market, and has already called a lot of attention to the band.

Not all of that attention has been positive, though. Many people are pretty angry that the band would willingly drag the value of their own recorded music down below free. Honestly though – it was only a matter of time.

It is all about supply and demand. The Internet has made it possible to create nearly infinite copies of recorded music – supply. With all of those options, and the ease with which they can be downloaded, demand goes way down. Once demand falls below a certain point, the bands have to offer bigger and bigger incentives to their potential customers just get noticed in the first place.

So here we are, with a band actually paying fans to buy their music. If anyone still needed proof that the industry needs to adapt, this is it.

Tags: bands, business models, economics, INNOVATION, music, MUSIC INDUSTRY