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May 4, 2006
Jane Siberry Gets It
Jane Siberry gets it. Not only is she a great musician, she's obviously on the ball when it comes to electronic distribution, too. Her on-line music store offers four different levels to pay:
- Free (A Gift From Jane)
- Suggested Price (.99)
- Pay Later (Download Now, Pay Only If You Like It)
- Pay a "Self-Determined" Amount (More or Less Than Suggested)
You know what? The store stats show that only 17% download for free, while of those paying, 79% paid the suggested price, 14% paid above the suggested price, and only 8% paid below the suggested price. And all of this is for MP3s with no "Digital Rights Management" restrictions, etc.
Record companies should take note: people want to do the right thing and compensate the artists they love. But they want to be able to use the songs where and how they want. See what happens when artists trust fans? They make money.
[Via Boing Boing]
Posted by Dave!
2 Comments
said:
That is freakin' awesome. So is Jane.
I wonder, though, how much of the success of that model is based upon goodwill generated by her taking a chance and (a) offering choices to users and (b) showing that she's not intimidated/persuaded by the dominant (and draconian) practices of the recording industry.
In other words, if every artist were to do this, I wonder if the tide might turn back to the free option being favored -- i.e., if users weren't rewarding the artist because such practices would be the norm.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea -- it's a great idea -- but I'm curious as to the probative value of the statistics.
Then again, maybe I'm delusional from studying too hard.
It seems to be a marketing tactic....subliminal advertising, look at how proudly the website flaunts how many people pay more than suggested price, hinting towards the "right thing to do".."what most do"..