Nettwerk Testing Its 'Pay On The Way Out' Concerts
from the be-interested-in-seeing-how-that-works-out... dept
Terry McBride, of Nettwerk, an interesting label based in Canada, has been running a whole series of interesting experiments that show how a modern record label can still be useful. When I saw McBride speak at Midem earlier this year, he mentioned an experiment he was running, which I never really wrote about. However, Nancy Baym points out that it's starting to get some press. The idea is a free concert to attend... where you're asked to pay what you think it was worth on the way out. Nettwerk artist k-os is doing this, setting up a "Karma table" where you can also get a free copy of k-os' "fan-mixed" album. This was the other experiment Nettwerk is running: rather than letting fans remix the album, they released all the stems so that fans could mix the album itself -- and then they're releasing both the best fan-mixed versions and the professionally mixed versions.It's an interesting experiment, and it will be worth watching (especially if McBride is willing share any of the actual results). It does seem like a risky move, because you're taking on the whole upfront cost of putting on the event -- giving away a scarcity, rather than an infinite good. However, depending on how the rest of it is structured they could end up making some decent money out of it. I'm just not sure it's really the best model, since giving away the scarcity for free gets much costlier much faster.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: business models, concerts, experiments, free, k-os, terry mcbride
Companies: nettwerk
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Good idea if...
If someone pays $100 because they want to be in the "Prestigious" tier, then they might get a free concert ticket for the next show... or something exclusive from the band, etc. People (especially men) tend to be *very* competitive, so if you turn the "who can pay the most" into a competition with bragging rights... *shrug*
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Worse, the reality of concert-goers at small gigs and venues is that whatever money they have on them will go for beer. They might put a bit aside for swag but the ticket is normally a sunk cost, paid out well in advance of the gig so no longer even a rational consideration. A change to the mindset can't come easily. Venues, knowing that the visitors will have paid nothing, will up the price of all drinks and food since they're providing a venue with great music... for free!!! That's how they'll frame it. The venues will cash in, the bands will get squat-diddly.
This then pushes the bands back to being little more than house bitches, working for any pittance the management throws them (after charging them at the last second for all their beer which was supposed to be free). The ticketing model got bands out of this hell in the first place.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Or the band is left paying for the venue without any ticket sales to cover it. This is part of why mike says it's probably not the best idea. Giving away infinite goods works because the marginal cost is zero -- making one is the same as making a hundred. Not so for something physical like a concert seat.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
lot easier on staff, too
Probably ends up significantly more money than artists promoted by ticketmaster make.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It Might Work
It just has to be structured so that the band isn't out anything other than their time if nobody gives anything. Venues make a lot of money just from people being there, so it shouldn't be too difficult to negotiate with them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Still, the model might work if the up-front costs could be minimized or if it could be combined with other models to pay the up-front costs.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Not feasible
By the by, Ive never heard of these people, nor Canada.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Not feasible
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Not feasible
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Not feasible
WierdHarold may be a troll, but he's not that obvious about it, you impostor!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Not feasible
I, for one, just ignore him/her.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Can't work
Or what happens when an emergency happens - EVERYBODY OUT! - how can you collect from a mass exiting?
It's great Terry is thinking of alternatives, I applaud him for it, but this one doesn't stick.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Can't work
Additionally, you can't force people to line up to exit. Someone will eventually try to claim felonious or unlawful restraint and try to take all the money the band made and then some.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Can't work
""Gotta agree. I've seen a money can on the way out where folks can toss cash on their way out but most just walk on by."
So? If most walk on by, maybe they didn't actually enjoy the show and so are paying what it's worth. Even if they do, how many bought drinks & merch instead of paying a door fee? How many of those would not have been there to begin with if they had to pay up front? From the article, it sounds like those who pay get a "free" album, so they're really just buying the album on the way out - more of an incentive to pay the cash than a random can, surely?
"Once they've consumed a show and enough intoxicants, the only thin on most people's minds is getting home or to the next party."
So, maybe taking a cut of the drinks revenue instead of the door cover might be a good idea? I don't think we're talking about bands who can fill stadiums with their name alone. We're probably talking about acts who might not fill a venue with a standard door charge.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Just controlling what's charged at the door
So what we're reading above isn't all that revolutionary - really just a reverse (i.e. on the way out) pay-what-you-can (PWYC) type scenario.
To be honest, PWYC almost always works out better for us bands - most people always pay the $5 you'd charge anyway, and the rest pay more. There is a whole social pressure aspect at work here, and I think it generally works for smaller bands where ticket presales don't exist.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Just controlling what's charged at the door
I can certainly see this working. Not all the time, but for the right bands and in the right situations. It can and obviously has worked.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
BJ-model
Pretty soon, we're just gonna bend over and let 'em have at our backsides. Maybe they'll toss us a nickel along with their inner-beans. Sure do love making music! Awesome career choice!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: BJ-model
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: BJ-model
It does however seem you have a penchant for prostitution, or at least hyperbole. Good luck with both.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
data
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
sneaky
[ link to this | view in chronology ]