Giving Away Music for Free

I was asked by a musician the other day, after he took a look at PLUGOLA (www.plugo.la), "What do you think about musicians giving their music away for free?" I was a bit surprised by the question, at first. I mean, I know a handful of major acts, like, NIN and Radiohead, have found some success in giving away their music for free or letting their fans set their own price. And that's a terrific idea for these international acts to give back to the fans who support them. It's no doubt a move like that would boost their popularity and fan support. But would independent, DIY musicians benefit the same way?

Andrew Dubber, of NewMusicStrategies.com, claims an indie musician should give their music away for free to the millions, in order to attract a few thousand fans. His reason is because people crave it. Well, who doesn't want something for free, right? I know a few thousand fans sounds like a lot, and I'm sure you wouldn't deny them, but in reality that's a HORRIBLE return. If you want to spread your music by giving away free mp3s, a targeted marketing plan would bring you a much better return and much more dedicated fans. A few thousand fair-weather fans is great, but a hundred hardcore fans is better. It's your hardcore fans that will be the people telling their friends about you, buying your music/merchandise and going to your shows; while it's your fair-weather fans that will be downloading your free mp3s only.

Targeting your audience is far more effective for the long term success of your brand and earning potential. For example; if you were in a heavy metal band, giving away your free music to anyone else BUT heavy metal fans would probably not do much for your advancement. You want the type of fans that want more of you and will continue to seek and follow you. Cameron Mizell, of MusicianWages.com, has the right idea in the article on how to effectively promote your own music on Itunes.

...take a very narrow aim at a specific group of people, you’re going to find dedicated fans. This is the complete opposite of trying to get as much radio play as possible, or taking out an ad in the Sunday edition of the New York Times. Instead of trying to convert 0.5% of thousands or millions of people by throwing spaghetti on the wall, I’m trying to get a 50% conversion of 50 people, many times over by catering to their tastes. Those people are excited to discover my music and word spreads organically.

Even more so in the digital age, these are how people will find you online. Search engines, online directories, indexes, etc. all use the the basic algorithm of categorizing web sites/pages based on keywords or key subjects (genre, brand), so interested surfers are directed to the right place. You want to be at the top of these lists, so you must target your audience and show them the way to your music. When they arrive, give them a free taste of what they're looking for. If a potential new fan doesn't want to purchase anything from you today, be sure to give them a way to bookmark or remember how to find you in the future. Perhaps THIS is when a free download or two is in order.

These days there are so many online promotional opportunities for independent musicians it's almost overwhelming, I know. But with a little homework, you can learn which tools are available online and which will work best for you, and put together your own marketing campaign. Better yet, you can do it all for free without having to necessarily give away your music for free. Your time, effort and talent is worth something.

EDIT: Artist House Music explores deeper and suggests price points for your music.