Oct 13 2010
Week 7 Response
In my first question this week, I asked if we adopted the 20th century version of free, could we tackle some of the problems we are having today with our idea of free. In the 20th century, businesses would give something away for free that would then encourage consumers to buy a companion product. Today, especially in the music industry, consumers get a product for free, and the business receives nothing in return. Indeed, in some respects, we are starting to move back to the 20th century idea of free already. In Brazil, for example, artists do not make money on their albums, for all intensive purposes they give their albums away for free. In exchange, they expect their fans to come to their shows. In addition, the site that we looked today in class– noisetrade.com— gives away music for free in exchange for information on fans. The music industry cannot go on as it is now, with its old mentality and the modern idea of free. Change is inevitable.
In my second question, I noted that consumers have a negative feeling towards content quality that was once offered for a price becoming free. I asked if people would be willing to pay for content that was once free. I believe that people will expect a rise in quality if a free product acquires a price. For example, many iPhone apps are offered for free, but you can opt to pay for a different version. Consumers expect for the paid version to have more features and be a better quality product. When a price is attached to something, consumers have a different attitude towards that product.
In my third question I asked how our societies can be influenced by the idea of Free in China and Brazil. I have already discussed in my response to question one how Brazil is interpreting Free in the music industry. I think that this could be a model that America could learn from, but at the same time I think it would be very hard to implement this music business model in America. Both businesses and consumers are so used to our model, broken as it is, and change could be hard. Many music consumers do not go to concerts and the music industry is so dependent on record sales. I don’t think the Brazilian model could be adopted. In China, music artists make nothing on their record sales, but use the exposure their pirated music gives them can turn into celebrity, which in can lead to a profitable career through the opportunities that fame offers. We see this model already in America, especially with reality TV. People have become “famous for being famous.” I think this model would catch on in American society easier than the Brazilian model because it is not a completely foreign concept to us.