Box Five is a three-piece band from Philadelphia. Their stuff’s quite nice – though hardly remarkable. What is remarkable is that they want to give you their music for free.
It’s a nifty marketing strategy for a band with a fair bit of talent, looks and ambition: record an EP and give it away online with the stated goal of just seeing how far it can go.
Well… it just got to New Zealand within a week. That’s a good start.
I’m not going to rush out and buy their album on the back of this, but that’s not the point. More people will hear them as a result of this – and therefore more people will like them and more people will want to buy their stuff. That’s how music works. That’s why radio’s so powerful.
You don’t buy movie tickets because you enjoyed the film or purchase a book you’ve read a few times and can’t get out of your head.
Music is most often consumed, THEN purchased.
The most successful method of music marketing always involves letting people hear it – and that’s just what Box Five are doing. If you need more convincing, there’s a rather complimentary review at Whatever’s Left.
I’d encourage them to add a Creative Commons sampling licence – but let’s not point out the flaws of a band who are doing something that understands the new media terrain far better than most.
Good on them. Go download.
Hey Dubber, seen this? On Wired
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66209,00.html?tw=rss.TOP
When Bill Gates referred to copyright reformers as modern-day communists in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show, it didn’t take long for the web community to respond with a big “nyah-nyah-nyah.”
Bloggers and designers were quick to dream up “creative communist” symbols, a play on one of the best-known groups working for copyright reform, Creative Commons.