GrindEFX

Another NARM video, this time from Mike Masnick of Floor64 and TechDirt.

This presentation was fantastic, Mike prepared 515 slides of examples of musicians using their music to connect with their fan base to make profit. He explains how this is different to musicians just selling music and the advantages of offering your music for FREE to encourage fans to buy into your brand.

Mike used Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails as one example. They released their album “Ghosts I-IV” initially as a free download for the first 9 tracks, and $5 for all 36 tracks under a Creative Commons license. The Creative Commons license allowed fans to legally share the album, so essentially the album was released for FREE.

However they grossed $1.6 million after just one week. How did they do this?

Connecting with their fans and giving them a reason to buy.

They connected with their fans by giving them options. Fans could download the album for free, or pay to download. They could also buy the CD for $10 if they wanted.

They gave their fans a reason to buy by adding value beyond just the music. They offered a Deluxe Box Set for $75 which included CDs, a DVD, a Blu-Ray, a book etc. They also offered a Limited Edition Super Deluxe Set for $300 which included even more stuff such as vinyl and some nice prints. There were only 2500 of these Super Deluxe Sets made and each one was personally signed by Trent Rezner, making it a real collectors item.

This is just one example and it is of a band that already had a following, and some may argue that they wouldn’t have been in a position to do this without the backing of a major label earlier in their career. However as the presentation continues Mike talks about lesser known artists and bands and how they used the same formula to create a successful business model.