For fans of best selling authors Malcolm Gladwell (“Tipping Point”) and Chris Anderson (“The Long Tail”), what’s one to do when you find that the authors of your favorite books are at odds over the future of “free” (also the title of Anderson’s new book)? The answer- look to another best seller, Seth Godin (“Tribes”). On his new blog post, he defends Anderson’s point of view.
After reading Gladwell’s review of Free in The New Yorker, I concur that there are indeed significant costs associated with the development of the technology and the distribution behind “ideas.” The biggest argument for Gladwell’s point of view is one that I don’t believe he makes- an idea that isn’t shared with anyone else is really just an idea. However, once that idea is shared with the world, it’s intellectual property. This type of property can be immensely valuable. That’s not to say that if someone creates a business based on giving away IP, that it can’t be successful. There are plenty of services that are offering content for free: traditional TV, Internet TV (Hulu, Joost, etc.), radio (both terrestrial and online variety- Pandora and Imeem), and most online news. Beyond that, at .99 cents- music is near free (legally), RedBox is providing major motion films for one dollar- not free, but cheap in comparison to a $10.00 movie (times each family member or a date that you bring with you), plus the price for soda, popcorn, and candy. As Godin’s pointed out in a previous post- “human attention has become the most valuable commodity.”
What Malcolm says in his article is true; many of these companies have yet to find profit in their free business models. Gladwell gives Youtube as an example of a “free” content company that is not seeing a profit. Another that is barely staying above water is Pandora. However, the “idea” industry’s biggest competitors are not necessarily other legal entities- they’re pirates. These pirates are not necessarily rogue bandits lurking in the underworld. In in many cases, they’re former customers who figured out how to get it free. This has been media’s biggest motivator to give their content away before someone else does it for them illegally. They’re competing with free. So their model is to garner enough traffic from hordes coming to consume anything that’s free, and then finding someone who will pay to piggyback their own message on the back of free media’s visibility- that’s an advertising model that’s been around for a while. The problem today is that previously (before the Long Tail), most of this media was created by professionals. It’s not that trained individuals are always going to generate the best media, or even that the everyday Joe can’t create entertaining content. However, when it comes to the masses of Joe’s creating media that is now available, finding that gem is much more difficult, simply because of the volume that is now available.
Back to Godin- For years, he’s been an advocate for the concept of “The Purple Cow,” an analogy for making one’s product extraordinary. This is the saving grace of both models- free and paid. Even free products will eventually fail to garner attention since there is so much mediocre media online. However, quality content will drive traffic and can also be monetized under certain circumstances. In regards to selling media- fans will always support what they believe in. If it can stimulate, motivate, and resonate, then they’ll pay for what you’ve got- even if they can find a way to get it free. Regardless of the form of media (books, video, music, etc.), in the future, there will still be room for both free and paid content.
In a recent interview that I conducted with Darryl Jennifer (bassist for the legendary Bad Brains)- a band that has enjoyed nearly three decades of cult success, and continue to sell tickets to shows, merchandise and music (physical and digital) to their fans- I asked Jennifer if he had advice for up-and-coming entertainers. He responded, “I don’t look at we do as entertainment. If I were just an entertainer, I probably wouldn’t be around today.” He explained that his career has been a mission. This movement of spirituality and eclectic music has garnered the band three decades of success.
People get behind movements. This is something that Seth Godin addresses in his book Tribes. Much media today is free because there’s so much of it, but most of it fails to move its audience. Regarding Anderson’s argument, “free” is not a definitive answer. We can find evidence of paid media working in a variety of places, including the mosh pits at shows for the aforementioned 50+ year old punk rockers. In actuality, an answer to the debate is even closer than a grungy club. Each of these authors continue to sell physical books, ebooks, and digital audio books to their followers. Like Jennifer, their fans wouldn’t think of not supporting the movements they’ve created. -I. Vasquetelle
