Re: [linux-audio-user] Marketing Free Music

On Thu, 9 Mar 2006 16:37:57 -0500
"Dana Olson" <dana@email-addr-hidden> wrote:

> On 3/9/06, Carlo Capocasa <capocasa@email-addr-hidden> wrote:
> > Yep, you heard me right. We need to MARKET our free music. Just because
> > it's free doesn't mean we don't have to work to make it acceptable to
> > the general public. And, we've got to convince people to press those
> > donation buttons once (preferably twice) a day.
> >
> > Right now, as Cesare pointed out in a previous post, CDs are looked at
> > to have enough added value to pay 20 bucks to get a booklet and liner
> > notes. Clearly, it's not the booklet and the liner notes. It's a ritual.
> > a 'CD' is kind of like a diploma... We live in a culture where people
> > just don't believe in themselves anymore. They need proof that an
> > external authority has approved this whatchmahallit and hence it is
> > 'good' (ie they may judge it 'good' and trust a lot of people will agree)
> >
> > College degrees. Course diplomas. Organic food. Plastic toy safety.
> > Certificates, certificates, certificates, everywhere you look. It
> > appears people somehow have this mysterious 'them' in their heads and
> > believe they must appease them. As soon as you act like an authority you
> > become a part of the mysterious 'them' and hence have credibility.
> >
> > Sad, but true.
> >
> > Of course there's a bunch of people out there with a mission to change
> > that... There's Serge Kahili King (http://www.huna.org) and Neale Donald
> > Walsch (http://www.cwg.com) to name two. They're all about 'What do YOU
> > think? It's about you! Start thinking!' (actually speaking of thinking
> > there's also Bob Proctor (http://www.bobproctor.com) but watch out the
> > guys a REALLY GOOD salesperson.
> >
> > So these guys are all working to create a free society and that's what
> > we should do to... A free society is one where people actually work to
> > find out what suits them, what they want in life, their personal taste,
> > etc. In other words, freedom of mental SERFDOM.
> >
> > But I do find it helpful to work with what people believe NOW in order
> > to lead their minds somewhere. So we should create just that... logos,
> > logos, logos. Brands. Marketing.
> >
> > We find our short, catchy message and then repeat it til the sun goes
> > down. And up. And down. And up. And down.
> >
> > "Downloadable music is superior to store-bought CDs"
> > "The OGG Vorbis file format is a sign of quality."
> > "Music that costs something is worthless."
> > "You are under a moral obligation to donate when you download music
> > for free and listen to it regularly."
> >
> > OGG Vorbis needs a logo. "VORBIS Seal of quality." Kind of like 'Intel
> > Inside'. People don't exactly know what this 'Intel' is that is inside
> > but simply assume they need it. People don't know exactly what this
> > 'VORBIS' is but assume it stands for freedom, love, good feelings...
> >
> > I believe the best 'brand' and 'credible authority figure' we can create
> > is simply 'Free Music'. You get some free music and you know what to
> > expect, and you know what is expected from you. Like in a well-known
> > kingdom in the middle ages (some things never change).
> >
> > So we have just created a music label that is truly free, that anyone
> > can participate in... That's pretty Sweet :) Now we're REALLY replacing
> > the middleman, not only in terms of distribution but in terms of authority!
> >
> > Anyone wanna gimme a hand? What do YOU think of this long-ass post? :)
> >
> >
> > ;)
> >
> > Carlo
>
>
> I read your whole post, but I think I forgot part of it already.. ;)
>
> Anyhow, I've been thinking a lot lately about removing the MP3s from
> my own website and leaving only the Oggs, but I think I'd rather have
> some great logos and information to promote it before - the timing
> would be right then.
>
> My suggestion would be to make any kinds of logos and things like that
> in SVG form, with a transparent background, as bands have different
> color schemes or button/banner schemes, etc. and it should really be
> fairly flexible. For example, if I have a black background, perhaps a
> white background for an "Ogg Rocks" logo would feel out of place, or
> whatnot. I say SVG because I like to have my images at certain sizes,
> and SVG is ideal for that. But these are just suggestions and I might
> not really know what I'm talking about.
>
> Either way, I'm really interested in supporting an initiative like
> this, even if my music isn't great and I have all of 3 fans. :)
>
> Dana

I think it is also possible to make use of language to make a cultural
shift. People are naturally lazy in their speech. Look at how gasoline
becomes gas in the US and petroleum spirit becomes petrol in the UK.

Now in the mp3 v ogg vorbis contest the battle is half won if you drop
the vorbis bit, and get *young* people talking like:

Hey man, you got an ogg of that?

And use subtle advertising like:

mp3s are OK but oggs are cool.

Bring in the technical reasons only after you've got people's attention
and again, only if they ask for it.

I also think it is a mistake to talk about 'free' music. There has been
a decades long campaign by commercial interests that anything free is
worthless. You can't fight that overnight and on a zero budget, so don't
try. Instead, talk about say, 'urban' music or maybe 'natural' music.
Give the suggestion that it's nothing new, and belongs to everyone
without using the dangerous 'free' word. Make it seem like a right. In
today's over-controlled world people are getting pretty uppety about
what they think are rights being denied them.

Apart from anything else, such an approach is also an honest one that
detractors would find damn hard to challenge.

-- 
F