Pearl Jam Shows How Giving Away Music Can Help Sales
from the yet-again dept
Over and over again, people have tried to explain to the recording industry that there are plenty of good business models that embrace file sharing. The industry, however, despite the evidence, continues to insist that if you give away your music for free, there simply are no business models, and music will cease to exist. Pearl Jam became an early supporter of embracing the internet, and found it to work well. Their latest efforts should drive home that point. Austin Fatheree wrote in, noting: "I received my iTunes "new Music Tuesday" email today and Pearl Jam's new single "World Wide Suicide" was the #1 album. This was interesting to me because I had downloaded the single for free (as a 256kb/s DRM free mp3) from Pearl Jam's official site two weeks ago. The "album" on iTunes is $.99 and includes a b-Side that will be on their album that will be released May 2nd. They also are pre-selling their album on their website. $14.00 plus shipping and handling you get the CD, a bonus CD of a rare live show from 1993, and the ability to download the album at Midnight May 2nd as a DRM free CD. For all the complaining the RIAA does it looks like there is another, another, another, another way then treating your customers like criminals." Indeed, this is interesting for a variety of reasons. First, it shows that even if you give away the music for free, there are opportunities to sell it -- and people may still buy it. Second, the rest of the deal for the album shows exactly what so many people have claimed for years: bundling other items and benefits with the "album" makes it a worthwhile buy.Of course, some will respond that Pearl Jam can do this because they're "Pearl Jam" -- a big name with a huge following. However, we've also seen less well known artists succeed using similar strategies. Also, we've seen brand new bands, like the Arctic Monkeys, become huge success stories by embracing the internet early on to build up the kind of fame that would allow them to do something like Pearl Jam has now done. In other words, the two (conflicting) arguments we hear against the idea that bands can make money by embracing music sharing (1. big bands would never do it because it cuts into their money making machine and 2. it would never work for new bands) don't seem to hold. Meanwhile, the RIAA and their counterparts around the world continue to insist that file sharing is destroying their business.
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Eddie Veder is a midget.
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Re:
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Re: You are
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Re:
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Using "tip", "paradigm", and "embracing products" in one post makes you look like an ass.
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The RIAA is right ;)
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MySpace Music
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Re: myspace
If you don't like something, that doesn't automatically make it a non-culture or stupid--THINK.
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Re: Re: myspace
Now go back to trying to get some gay guy with a fake female account to add you as a friend...
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myspace
agreed, myspace is a disorganized, disjointed mess of a website/community
sure there's tons of bands getting exposure on myspace - does anyone care? not really...
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Free Live Music
www.dgmlive.com
has weekly downloads from Fripp's live archives. You can download complete shows in MP3 ($9.95) or FLAC($12.95). This is the WAV of the future.
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Re: Free Live Music
You suck.
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Re: Re: Free Live Music by mike shizzle
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Its because PJ are humans
And don't forget unlike most other bands, PJ not only publicly allows non-intrustive taping at all their live shows, the past few years they have been selling soundboard bootlegs of every show. In fact when you purchase them, the (again, non-drmed plain mp3) whole show is immediately downloadable from their site, hours after the concert.
There are the few bands that are about the music, and want nothing more to share it with everyone and hope you will return the respect, then there are the money-hungry bands that want all they can get and ride the back of the RIAA.
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Re: Its because PJ are humans
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Bad analysis
Your analysis seems to be that free music generates buzz, so the new business model is to give music away for free in order to generate buzz.
The music industry is full of shrewd people; their business is based on limiting your access to music to the music that they control. Pearl Jam, Creative Commons, file sharing and podcasting all undermine the music industry's ability to limit your access music
What I wonder is why you or anybody else cares WTF the music industry does anymore? They have been force-feeding you pablum since the day you were born. Now we have the ability to disconnect and see the real world and realize that most of the music that has ever been created is not controlled by the music industry.
The music industry isn't stupid for protecting their turf; music fans are stupid if they would rather complain about the status quo than listen to the wealth of music that is freely available.
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Re: Bad analysis
Right. And the point I'm making is that this is a dying business model that puts them at risk, and suggesting on ways they can build their business to much greater levels.
What I wonder is why you or anybody else cares WTF the music industry does anymore? They have been force-feeding you pablum since the day you were born. Now we have the ability to disconnect and see the real world and realize that most of the music that has ever been created is not controlled by the music industry.
Um. We're analysts. That's what we do. Based on your logic, we shouldn't write anything, because who are we to analyze.
Trying to suggest a smarter path to the industry seems sensible.
The music industry isn't stupid for protecting their turf; music fans are stupid if they would rather complain about the status quo than listen to the wealth of music that is freely available.
We're not "complaining about the status quo," but suggesting better business models for the existing players who have resisted them.
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Re: Bad analysis
Don't hold your breath for the music industry to change its ways....for a dying business model, the industry is making tons of money and has managed to avoid getting killed off by MP3's and the Internet for a decade. They gripe about declining sales, but if you look at their numbers, they are usually talking about items shipped. A lot of the decline in shipments is probably the result of them shipping less and getting fewer items shipped back because of better supply management. Music does face competition from other forms of entertainment, but the industry makes money from licensing music for video games, DVDs, too.
As an analyst, you ought to come up with something better than to suggest that, because Pearl Jam can give stuff away and still make money, the music industry is dying and should build their business models on file sharing.
Where are the music companies successfully using the file-sharing appoach? Take a look at Magnatune's financial info, for example:
http://blogs.magnatune.com/buckman/2004/12/summary_of_magn.html
I don't think the RIAA is worrying too much about that.
If you want to suggest better business models for the music industry, find some real examples. We're 10 years into online music, and the music industry seems to be doing a pretty good job of guarding their turf.
These are great times for music fans - there's more free music available than ever before, and access to a broader variety, too.
But building a music business around giving away free music, that doesn't involve limiting how people use the music, that doesn't involve suing grandmas, that doesn't involve force-feeding people lowest-common denominator artists, has proven to be pretty difficult for companies to do.
How about analyzing that problem?
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Re: Re: Bad analysis
My argument wasn't "because Pearl Jam...". This was just another example showing that it is possible to make a business out of doing this -- despite what the industry is saying.
Sorry, this post wasn't supposed to be the complete answer to everything, but just the latest in a series that explains the issue.
The point is to look at the trends, and note that the industry *is* looking at a crisis point. Not yet, but it's coming. It's not hard to see it. And then to suggest that there are ways out of it that don't involve treating everyone like criminals.
If you want to suggest better business models for the music industry, find some real examples. We're 10 years into online music, and the music industry seems to be doing a pretty good job of guarding their turf.
I am finding real examples. The examples may be small, because they're just starting out, but they're adding up.
And "guarding their turf" is exactly the wrong way to look at things right now. There's a tremendous opportunity for the industry. They shouldn't be guarding their turf... they should be expanding!
These are great times for music fans - there's more free music available than ever before, and access to a broader variety, too.
Yup, and the industry is suing a bunch of folks for listening to music they like, and are putting rootkits on computers without letting people know, decreasing security.
Yup, great time to be a music fan.
But building a music business around giving away free music, that doesn't involve limiting how people use the music, that doesn't involve suing grandmas, that doesn't involve force-feeding people lowest-common denominator artists, has proven to be pretty difficult for companies to do.
Has it? The point of this post and others was to show that there are ways to make money. No one has tried it on a larger scale yet, but the examples of it succeeding on a small scale show that it can work.
Not only that, it will have to work, because as much as the RIAA is "guarding its turf," it's going to keep getting chipped away.
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Re: Re: Bad analysis
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Music Industry
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RE: myspace/Bad analysis
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It's all about the music!
For Pearl Jam it's about getting their music and message out there, it's not about selling millions of records. They've got nothing to lose this far in their careers. They're trying new things and the results for them don't always have to be huge successes. If they break new ground and have success, that's just bonus for them.
I guess the point I'm making is that the internet is an awesome tool for any musician; big or small.
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Re: It's all about the music!
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If u don't know, now u know
Examples:
1) & most obvious TICKETMASTER
2) Never playing the same live set each night
3) Releasing book legs of live concerts
3) Now a free download
More bands need to be about the the art instead of the $$$$$$$$$$
playing great music = a great following
To PJ
Doing
it
the
right
way
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Will free music help sale?
So getting the mp3 free from there site, I got introduced to awesome band Now buying the media was discoursing.
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Pearl Jam is a Great Band...
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If u don't know, now u know by Derek
Examples:
1) & most obvious CIRCUSTRUCK!
2) Never playing in Russia!
3) Releasing book with legs!
3) 4!
More bands need to be about the the $rt instead of the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ (LINUX RULz! M$ DRuLz!)$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
playing great music = me writing like an idiot
To PJ
Thanks
for
the
three
way
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Re: If u don't know, now u know by Derek
1) & most obvious is 27 and lives with Mom & Dad.
2) Creeds fan club president
3) Thinks Pink Floyd is one guy
4) Hasn't been laid since the bicentennial
If u don't know, now u know.........
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Re: If u don't know, now u know by Derek
Inspired!
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They are immortal.
Well, it seems that most of the replies to this insightful and thought-provoking article have been from kids who just got back from McDonald's and are already bored with their Happy Meal toy, and being that I haven't been one of those kids for 20 or so years I'll leave some real words of wisdom.
The people that whine about Pearl Jam are upset because for some reason the band continues to put out albums even though they're "not on MTV" and "everything has sucked after Ten". Well, too bad for you. They rock, sell out every show they play, and will eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame. At this point, if you don't like Pearl Jam, just don't consider yourself an "angry" fan. Don't say "I like Ten, and Vs. was alright, but man, Vitalogy just sucked...I AM a fan though". Guess what, you're not. You only like the early stuff, so that means you're not a fan. The word "fan" comes from "fanatic"...did you know that? Probably not, because you watch too much MTV (and it's not just you Louis). I like the video for Van Halen's "Right Here, Right Now", but I am definitely not a Van Halen fan.
The other people that are mad about Pearl Jam's success are leftover STP fans that just don't want to admit that Scott Weiland's heroine addiction was (or is, I can't keep up) more important to him than keeping STP alive. The dude's a screw-up. He screwed his band, his future, and his fans. Oh wait though, I forgot about Velvet Revolver. Now there's an overdose just waiting to happen.
To sum all of this up, just embrace the fact that Pearl Jam is a worldwide success and no one can keep them down. No one has yet and no one will. You can't defeat them. They stomp over everyone and everything. They're the best live act in the world. It doesn't mean you have to listen to their new stuff, but just accept the truth and move on.
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Re: They are immortal. by PearlJamDefeatsAll
My point was, Pearl Jam is a great band despite the fact that they're not on MTV cribs showing off the 22 inch chrome wheels on their second Hummer.
BTW. You shouldn´t immediately make presumptions about people you´ve never met in person. The only reason I watch MTV is because its the only (and slight in that) infusion of English television matter here in the South of Germany where I work as a Defense Contractor for European Aerospace.
And even though Euro MTV is liberally spiced with degenerate American drivel such as Cribs and, lord help me, Date My Mom, every now and again it supports German music with plays from bands such as Seeed, Oomph or Rammstein, just to name a few.
I'd gladly brave MTV just for the chance of seeing a Rammstein music video.
(I know...I`m probably painting my face now with a big bullseye and a pointing "Flame me" sign)
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pearl jam
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well
And secondly to the person who said Pearl Jam left Sony to go to a small label, J record, their new label, is owned and distributed by Sony. All they did was leave Epic. They are still a Sony band. And have world wide major label distribution.
To comment about the original thought, although the free factor may have helped, the reason Pearl Jam's 'album' sold so well is because the B side to that disc was a new song you couldn't download for free. And pearl jam fans a crazy.
if you take just the single, and put nothing else on it, it sells 700% percent less. I promise you
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Re:
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LEVY
Worst band ever.
Story goes: They JUST realized how bad they really were and try to make a sexy video to turn some heads. Sounds good right?
Nope. They put the lead singer, UGLY KID, in a sex tape with a hot model. He is SO UGLY.
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J Records...
actualy J records, while a smaller label, is still a major label under RCA/Arista. and if you aren't aware, BMG & Sony merged last year so Pearl Jam are in fact under the Sony umbrella yet again (they weren't when they signed to J though).
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pj
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Free music
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Free music
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anonymous coward
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Pearl Jewelry
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Want to f*ck Eddie Vedder
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reply
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