Martin+blog+analysis

TO: Proximity Music Team FROM: James Martin SUBJECT: New York Times article about FreeAllMusic.com DATE: Dec 30, 2009

We were asked to analyze a blog post or news item to help us prepare Proximity's winter survey. The following is a summary of a // New York Times //article that outlines a new service being provided by FreeAllMusic.com which allows users to download free music after watching a short advertisement. I think that the winter survey should ask TU students how often they download music illegally and how they feel about services like FreeAllMusic.com


 * How FreeAllMusic.com works **

FreeAllMusic.com will allow users to download free music, unrestricted by any digital rights managements, after watching a short advertisement of their choice. This site is similar to very popular Hulu.com, which allows users to watch free television shows and other videos after viewing a short commercial. According to an article appearing in the // New York Times ////, // the site targets “casual pirates who, for whatever reason, are not paying for music.”

So far FreeAllMusic.com has agreements with two of the four major record labels (yet to be identified) and has six advertisers committed including Coca-Cola, Warner Brothers Television and Zappos.com. A test version of the site was opened on December 22 and should be open to the public sometime this month. At this point the site will allow only five downloads per session and 20 per month, but this initial limit is not set in stone.


 * Why FreeAllMusic.com is important **

Before the advent of the internet radio was the main source for people to hear music, making it a fertile ground for advertisers to target specific audiences. Now the internet and Gen Y are changing the way music gets from the musician to the fan and advertisers have been largely removed from the process. FreeAllMusic.com aims to change that, not only putting advertisers back in the loop before the download occurs but also allowing them access to certain social-networking sites, such as facebook.com, as well as other sites in the form of banner ads post-download (with the permission of the user). For example, “Andy N just downloaded ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ by the Ramones courtesy of Zappos.com.” According to one industry insider FreeAlllMusic.com will be great for advertisers because “at the very least, it will give them a sense of how relevant they are to consumers. It puts the pressure on to be fun and exciting to watch, or else people aren’t going to watch them — but in return they’ll get eyeballs glued to the message.”


 * Questions to ask TU mobile users **

FreeAllMusic.com has the potential to revolutionize the world of music downloading, and if that happens the potential for advertisers could be immeasurable. To gauge the interest of TU music fans for such a service the following questions could be included on the winter survey.

· How often per month do you illegally download music? · How often per month do you use free streaming music websites such as Pandora.com? · Does the idea of a service similar to Hulu.com that would offer free music downloads interest you?

Proximity clients need answers to these questions in order to understand how young people are accessing and listening to music online so that they can maximize exposure to target audiences.

__Reference__ Newman, Andrew A. (2009, December 30) With Ads, Music Downloads Sing a New Tune. // New York Times //, B3. Retrieved Jan. 4, 2009, from []