Give your music away for free.

This is a notion that has been tossed around in the music industry (among others) for quite some time now, and I had an interesting conversation last night with someone from “a major creative arts agency” about this very notion. (“There’s William Morris and there’s us,” he said.) Anyhow, he was quite adamant that music, in no way, shape or form, is free. Somebody has to pay for it, he contended. And while I can’t say that he’s wrong in his contention, I can’t exactly say that he’s right either. Giving your music away for free is not right for every artist, and certainly is not sustainable, but it’s a novel idea for gaining new fans and/or as one component in your product mix.

Once you’ve obtained those fans by giving away your music for free, how do you add value on top of that free music so they want to pay? If the music itself has essentially been driven down to “free”, what will they pay for? Easy—people will pay for anything that adds value to their life or to their experiences. (I’m being quite general here.) You’ll want to add something to their experience that will cause them to want to not only pay you, but buy directly from you, rather than from iTunes, Amazon or, even worse, Bittorrent. There are some very interesting ways that this can be accomplished and listed below are what I believe to be the 5 best ways to add value, along with some examples.

1. Physical Offerings

This is pretty much a given, but the best way to add value to a digital (read: free) offering to to include a pristine-quality vinyl, a sweet poster or some other physical good associated with your act. (Bottle openers, tote bags, backpacks, etc.) This makes the fan more willing to spend money because they’re getting more than just digital files pumped to their harddrive. They’re getting a physical item, that you’ve taken the time to consider including in the package, which is well worth their money.

2. Bonus Content

When you tell fans than you’re including some “bonus tracks” or a “bonus DVD” with their purchase, this creates a feeling of getting a great deal. “So not only am I getting the album, but I’m getting 4 B-sides too!? What a great way to spend $5!” So that might be exactly what your fans are thinking, but bonus content is a great way to add value to your items. It’s also a great way to repurpose previously released material. Fanfarlo had already released their album when they decided to re-release it for $1. How would they keep those previous customers, whom paid more than $1 for the album, happy? Simple—they included 4 bonus tracks. These bonus tracks were new to not only new customers, but to existing ones as well.

3. Exclusive Content

Often times, D2F content is exclusive content. Many of the packages that are offered from an artist’s website are not available elsewhere, and they’re usually available from the artist before anywhere else. Make sure  you communicate this to your fans and they’ll feel like they’re not only getting a deal, but that they’re getting it before anyone else.

4. A Connection

A connection between artist and fan can often be more valuable than any physical offering. Frequent videos, tweets and emails are great starts to accomplishing this. But don’t stop there—send some “@ replies” to your twitter followers, encourage your email subscribers to email you back (and then reply to their replies) or give some viewers shoutouts in your videos. Make it a two-way street and you’ll really seem on top of your game and your fans will appreciate you even more.

5. Get Endorsed/Recommended

As I mentioned in my previous post, our success with Fanfarlo was due in large part to an endorsement from Iceland rockers Sigur Ros. Now, how did this add value? It actually added value to both parties. Fans of Sigur Ros might not only enjoy Fanfarlo, but they might even appreciate Sigur Ros for giving them the recommendation. They appreciate Sigur Ros for acting as a sort of filter for their fan’s taste. This recommendation will not only establish a relationship with the new band, but it will further the relationship with the existing band. These fans will find value in the new band because they’ll respect the fact that, since the endorser acted as a sort of filter, they didn’t have to search very hard to find this new band and it was suggested to them by a reputable source.

To sum it up, it’s very possible these days to add value to your digital (free) offerings and offer your fans something worthwhile to pay for, be it physical offerings or just that oh-so-valuable connection. You want to keep as many fans as possible in your own ecosystem and not sacrifice them to iTunes or Amazon. When you’ve established that connection with them, they’ll be fans for life, which is hard to put a price tag on.

What are some other ways artists can add value to their product offerings? Please leave your thoughts in the comments!