Why in the world would I give my music away for FREE?

// December 16th, 2009 // Atmos Trio, Jazz, Rob Michael, widget

A couple of weeks ago I conducted an experiment with the Atmos Trio bandcamp site.

It was toward the beginning of the holiday season and I was in a giving mood, so I priced all of Atmos Trio’s albums (which include sheet music along with music files.) at a “Pay what You Want (even nothing)” price. I’m accustomed and happy to giving music away for free. I’ve always offered individual song downloads for free and had a low minimum price set for albums. But I offered everything for free to anyone who was interested.

Over the course of the 3 Day Special, many more people than normal downloaded the 2 albums “Atmos Trio” and “Atmos Plays Waters.” They helped spread the word about the opportunity for “Free Atmos Trio tunes”on Twitter and Facebook. It was nice to get such a favorable response from people who seemed genuinely appreciative of the music.

But something else rather interesting occurred as well: More than 50% of those that downloaded opted to pay for the music. Some paid far more than any price I would consider setting. Was this merely the result of a period of actively promoting the music? Maybe. Should I price my music at the  ”Pay what You Want (even nothing)” price all the time? Maybe.

Why in the world would I give my music away for FREE? I would much prefer people hear the music and form some opinion on it rather than have it be locked away behind a price tag somewhere.

That’s why.

Posted via email from AtmosMusic

  • Hi Rob
    I am experiencing exactly the same with my 3 day Holiday Special sale. It is wonderful to feel the viral effect of twitter and how generous people really are.
  • People are very generous and more than happy to help perpetuate music that they love.
  • Congrats! What I've seen is with a name your price, minimum price setup the average price paid ends up being about 1.5x the minimum price. For example, a $5 minimum on an album generates sales with an average sale price of $7.50. Your experience adds another data point to what I believe: people will pay for good music.
  • Thanks Joe, not only for your comment, but for the wonderful work you and your team at bandcamp are doing. It's a pleasure working with you all.
  • mrG
    Here's another good reason to get your music heard: Fellow share-friendly jazzer Darcy Argue's Infernal Machines is #6 in 2009 JazzTimes Critics Poll: http://bit.ly/6yW187

    Pretty darn good for a kid who started his band with no money, no contacts, a stranger in a strange land with only a dream and some scores. "Hi, you don't know me but I'm starting a big band and I can't pay you and I was wondering ..." he would begin. Today, only iirc a year or three later, they are topping the polls, right next to the big-label Breckers and Marselleses.

    Something else you may want to consider that has seen some positive results in other genres: upload your concert tapes to dimeadozen.org or archive.org and give people a sense of the live personalities that go with the music!
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