Most musicians feel that giving anything away for free is taking away from their bottom line.  Let's face it, music today can largely be found for free with just a little googling.  So the mp3 is not 'special' anymore.  It's actually become more of an advertising tool than an actual product!

Think about it, if you play a ton of shows, the best way for people to see your show is if they like your music.  And how will they like your music?  By hearing it!  So free makes sense in this case, because it can drive new fans to your shows.  More fans at your shows can equal more cash, either immediately or eventually.

What if you don't perform?  Does free still make senses?  Yes and no.  It depends on what is free, and what is special.  You should never limit the opportunity for a new fan to hear your music.  Whether it's through a youtube video or from mp3s on your site, do not hinder this process!

The new music fan is aware that all music is basically a few clicks away.  So the mp3 is not special anymore.  But, content that supports the mp3 is very special, and valuable!  Because there is no system that collects all the unique data that surrounds your music, you technically already have an advantage.

This advantage can spread amongst many websites, but the most effective way is to place most of this content on your own website.  Kind of a no-brainer, but still good to make the connection between unique content and your website :)

You'll definetely want to keep posting content on places like MySpace and YouTube.  But reserve some special content for you website, and then reserve even more content for a section that people have to pay for.  The true fan wants access to as much info as possible about you and your music.

And that's another distinction .. The super fans are into your music AND you.  So don't hold back, give them what they want.

Let's connect this back to the free model ... By giving them mp3s for free, you give them a taste of your stuff.  If they like it, then they'll listen to what else you're offering and maybe even become a super fan.

Both Mimi and I've seen this first hand .. We chose to give away all of our mp3s a few months ago in exchange for an email signup .. and it has 'paid off' so to speak.  The amount of new people hearing our tunes because of the free downloads is like 2000% higher than what it was before we were giving away freebies.  You can check out our free model at our Mimi & Teft website.

So I think YES, the free model can work in the music industry.  Post a comment if you've questions or opinions about the free mp3 world.

Teft