Many people believe the age of streaming has done such a good job of providing free and legal means to access music that piracy no longer makes a major impact on an artist’s career. Our experience in promotional distribution over the last eight year has taught us the opposite is true, and the reason for this are numerous.
For starters, the royalties made off streaming services is nowhere near the kind of returns musicians (and their labels) would see from actual music sales. Of course those, be it physical album sales or digital downloads, continue to decline as use of streaming services rise. Royalty rates do seem to be improving with time, but not all genres are thriving in the digital space. Country and rock in particular are struggling, as more artists have to rethink their release strategies to match the ever-present demand for more content.
When new records don’t produce money, the ability artists (and their labels) have to promote the record declines. Everything from touring, to merchandise, advertising, and all forms general marketing require money up front. Many artists still rely on strong early sales in order to afford their next business move. When that money doesn’t come in, careers stall – some before they even really begin, and many never recover.
The belief that people who steal music and end up loving a particular release will eventually support the artist responsible has long been proven false. There is some conversion, yes, but most consumers who rely largely on piracy for access to new music rarely evolve into reliable shoppers. Most cannot be bothered to pay $10 a month for access to millions of songs via subscription streaming services, so why would they think your single, 10 or 12 track album is worth anything at all?
This brings us to the chart at the top of this post. Created from a report commissioned by UMG in 2015, the chart above reflects what many people far smarter than you or I believe would happen in a post-piracy world. This is how it works:
In the first year after piracy, consumers would be highly resistant to paying because they have a long-standing expectation of free. As time moved on, people would start to give in, and that resistance would gradually move towards greater payments in the form of premium Spotify subscriptions, increased vinyl purchases, and even download and CD buys.
Something else that might happen: The end of ‘freemium’ service. Streaming subscription platforms like Spotify and Apple Music do not have to allow consumers trial access to their libraries. The idea of free access was a direct response to rampant piracy, offering a cost-free alternative that ultimately still helped artists get paid while maintaining the expectation that music be free. Without piracy that expectation would begin to fade, ultimately leading to increased sales across the board.
Whether or not a concrete solution to piracy exists in our immediate future is another question altogether. At Haulix we are working every day to make that dream a reality, and we’ve come a long way, but there are still more developments needed. With your help we know will get there, and from that point we will build a new music industry that is more resilient than ever.
Longtime Haulix contributor Andrew Jones has done a ton of research regarding the best methods of giving away music for free so you could read his work and get back to creating your art. If you love the article below, please check out Andrew’s own website and consider hiring him for your future management needs.
Free music giveaways can be an important part of a marketing strategy these days. However if you go this route you are going to want to think through your options carefully. The first step is to determine your goals. Are you looking to:
a) Give a gift to your fans b) Expand your e-mail list c) Grow your exposure d) Get some revenue via tips e) Other
Depending what you are looking for there are several options. After some research here are all the “major” options I have come across. There may be others, but remember the more you have to teach your fans, the fewer of them are going to convert to actual downloads. If you know of any other great options, I’d love to hear about them!
NoiseTrade
If you have followed this blog for long you will know I am a big fan of Noisetrade. The system works nearly perfectly. You give out a URL when your fans follow it they get a really pro looking page. Hit download, enter their e-mail and postal code and are immediately sent an email with a download link.Fans are also given the option to “tip” you for your music which you can keep or give away to charity from their system.
Added Pros:
You get an e-mail address and postal/zip code with every download. If you are smart about adding them to your e-mail list and tracking postal codes, this is invaluable to your tour marketing.
An added bonus is that they have a chart on the front of their page (which is quite popular) which gets additional exposure across the world.
It’s incredibly easy for fans to share the page to other potential downloaders
There are nice looking embeddable widgets
Cons:
At this time there is not a great discovery system on Noisetrade. There are several curated albums featured every week, but there I feel there could be a stronger “related artists system” especially since they have now added fan accounts.
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is essentially built around sales, however they do have a free download option as well. Again in exchange for an email. You give out a URL when fans follow it they are taken to a page with a “buy now” link and asked to name their price (if you set it up as pay-what-you-want). After that thy are directed through a shopping cart and soon receive the files via e-mail.
Added Pros:
The “pay what you want” language generally leads to better sales.
They have a robust charting system
It’s easy to re-direct fans to other albums
Lots of high quality file options
Cons:
The charts aren’t featured very prominently.
I don’t feel like the system encourages fans to share as much as it could
Soundcloud
One of the biggest music sites on the planet that allows both streaming and downloads. It requires very little from the customer. The site is reasonable intuitive, though there are lots of buttons like repost, add to playlist, etc. that could distract from the download. Again it’s a simple URL to send out. They click the button and receive instant MP3 download.
Added Pros:
Soundcloud is a social network in and of itself with a MASSIVE following, especially in the hip-hop and EDM worlds.
Many people look at Soundcloud stats as an indicator of a band’s popularity.
It’s easy to include a large catalogue of material.
Great looking embed options.
Cons:
There is no direct way to convert those downloads into sales.
You receive no fan data (such as emails, location, etc.) without a pro account, and even then it’s fairly limited.
You cannot set up to allow fans to download a full album, each track needs to be clicked on separately.
ReverbNation
The download process on ReverbNation is a little different than the URL you give out will lead to your artist page not individual downloadable music. Then they see a list of songs (no album differentiation) and a bunch of them have a Download button. They can click on each song individually to download.
Added Pros:
ReverbNation rankings can give you a warm feeling in your belly
There is certainly a crowd who routinely finds their new music through ReverbNation
Cons:
Very few professionals consider ReverbNation stats a major factor.
For people who aren’t used to the site all the buttons and dongles can distract them from the download options
You cannot set up to allow fans to download a full album, each track needs to be clicked on separately.
BitTorrent
Thom Yorke (of Radiohead) made headlines last year distributing his album through BitTorrent. I think there is a TON of potential for other artists to grow in this area, but for this style of promotion I think the torrenting process is still a little above the average consumer. It requires downloading a torrent link, using a separate torrent client software…etc.
Added Pros:
You can also add pay gates to packages
If the torrenting community really embraces you…you are gold.
You are not limited in what goes into your package. Bio, video, music, whatever you want!
I’ve heard nothing but great things about working with the BitTorrent team.
Cons:
Many people aren’t familiar with torrenting and may get lost in the process.
As Dropbox wasn’t created for this type of function you may run into troubles with files/bandwidth/crashes etc.
You receive no fan data (such as emails, location, etc.)
There is no direct way to convert those downloads into sales. Or allow fans to tip etc.
Self Hosted ZIP
On your own website you can easily host a download link. If you have fairly basic knowledge of website building you can easily add something to the backend of your own site to direct fans to when they went there they would get a nice splash page with a download button. They click on it, and get an instant download.
Added Pros:
Get people to your own site as opposed to some “rented” space
Complete flexibility. Make it password protected for your fan club, give it away to everyone. Stick it in your blog. Put it on a page with all your tour dates, create a re-direct to your sales page after they download…whatever you want!
Add whatever you want to that folder
Cons:
Depending on the size of your band/bandwidth limits etc. you may need to be careful
You do need to understand how your website, servers etc. work or hire someone who does.
Conclusion
Personally I feel like Noisetrade or a self-hosted ZIP are the best two options. Both allow for simple professional branding that can prominently display/and build your relationship with the downloader.Noisetrade edges self-hosted for me, primarily due to the potential front page placements on the chart, simplicity, recognition within the industry and the simple share functions that are so effective.However, at the end of the day, it all depends what your goals are.
This post was written by Andrew Jones, editor of Checkered Owl. It originally ran on his blog, but we loved it so much we felt it deserved to shared once more on ours. If you like his work and want to read more of his writing, or if you want to be super cool and offer him full time industry employment, reach out and connect with him on Twitter.
