If you would have asked me years ago if there would ever be free music on demand of your own choice legally, I probably would have said: NOPE! Now in 2012 there is a thing called free music and it’s dressed up in brand names such as Spotify, Deezer and Xbox Music.
Music Revolution II
Of course we all know Apple caused the first big musical revolution of modern times (tune wise). iTunes when introduced in 2001 made it possible to listen to music whenever, wherever, you could buy individual songs easily and use it on various Apple devices as well. Fundamentally different than free music sharing platforms of the likes of Napster, KaZaA and Limewire (maybe these guys actually prepared that revolution). In the last couple of years the second big music revolution of the 20th century happened, making on demand music truly free. Of course we’ve always (feels like it anyway) had Radio, offline and online, but to be able to listen to a song you want to listen to when you want to listen to it for free is truly a revolution.
Different formats
And it comes in various formats. For example with Spotify you can listen to all of their music for free, but you do have to put up with their commercials. Some people find that irritating, but those who are used to Radio with their babbling dj’s and commercials, might not be so disturbed. A funny thing is that Spotify has commercials themselves telling you how irritating the commercials are and how wonderful it would be not to have to listen to them; funny, but makes sense, because of course they want to have as many paying listeners as they can. If you pay 5 Euros/Dollars/Pounds – depending which country you’re in – you can listen to ad free music 5 and for another 5 you can also enjoy it on you smart phone and offline. Remember the time you bought at least one cd/record/tape a month for around 12 bucks?
Something in it for Brands?
Definitely! Of course there’s the standard promo’s with free subscriptions for a month or more. Mobile phone companies have discovered this earlier on, as their added brand value increases and they often provide the smartphones to their customers. Many other brands have followed: from fashion to newsbrands and even banks. It’s also possible to create your own playlists and apps (Mashable, April 13 2012). And other free music platforms such as 22Tracks offer branded take overs and even channels. Just to be clear: There is a difference between the various free music platform brands. 22Tracks for instance is a free music discovery channel, which means under the guidance of 22 fantastic curators you’re always on top of the newest music in your genre, be it Jazz, Techno, Disco or any of the other ones and you even have a choice of various European cities. Even Microsoft wants a piece of the music pie through Xbox Music, streaming millions of songs for free with Windows tablets and PCs.
Brand(Add)ed Musical Emotion
The great thing about music is the fact that almost everyone likes it in some way, shape or form and it makes you feel a certain way. Something brands want to effectuate as well. There is a watchout: if you want to connect a brand to music, make sure you choose the right channel, genre. Nothing more is a turn off than expecting a certain type of music and getting something completely different in a wrong way. It would be like Eminem rapping in Katie Melua’s nine million bicycle voice.
As always: just make sure you understand your (desired) consumer and you’re good to go. And if you don’t know, try asking them.
Check out some other free music platforms:
-Deezer: a relative new kid in town – is similar to Spotify, with the exception you can only listen tot the first 30seconds in the free version.
-Music Unlimited: Sony offers access to millions of songs on PC and a variety of Sony devices.
-Music Hub: Samsung’s music locker, radio and music store for the Galaxy S3.
-Rhapsody: an online music store subscription service available in the US only. Their software helps organize music collections, and synchronize them in MP3 Players (Napster joined them in 2011).
-Lastfm: a large online music catalogue, powered by your scrobbles. Free internet radio, videos, photos, stats, charts, biographies and concerts.
-Bandcamp helps fans discover new music and directly support those who make it by helping artists sell their music and merch directly to their fans.
-Soundcloud, more of a music sharing community: create, record and share the sounds you create anywhere to friends, family and the world.
