Epicenter The Business of Tech Trent Reznor Backs Chris Anderson’s Theory of ‘Free’

“Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales,” wrote Reznor on his message board. “Make your record cheaply but great and GIVE IT AWAY [as DRM-free MP3s] … Collect people’s e-mail info in exchange which means having the infrastructure to do so and start building your database of potential customers. Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods.”

[...] use free tools from Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube and SoundCloud; and give people a reason to keep coming back to their site (Reznor’s own forums are an example of this strategy).

However, Reznor says the strategy of giving away music in return for e-mail addresses, then marketing pricey box sets and other premium goods to those e-mail addresses only makes sense if a band wants to keep all its money and stay in control of its image.

“If you are looking for mainstream super-success (think Lady GaGa, Coldplay, U2, Justin Timberlake), your best bet in my opinion is to look at major labels and prepare to share all revenue streams / creative control / music ownership. To reach that kind of critical mass these days, you’ll need old-school marketing muscle, and that only comes from major labels.

“Good luck with that one.”

viaGoogle Reader 172.