Right off the bat, I have to admit, I have not been invited to the Free All Music beta test.
But it would appear this CNET blogger was invited. He states he found the experience of watching ads – of selecting ads and then watching them – before getting the downloads was “…surprisingly painless.” Now that’s a ringing endorsement, right up there with my personal favorite, “I didn’t hate it nearly as much as I thought I would.”
Yet the author describes a process in which the user really only gets 30-second samples of songs before being forced to pick an advertising sponsor, having to sit through a 15-second advertisement and then getting the download.
I warn you, reader, what follows is a mean-spirited, judgmental and completely uninformed review of Free All Music’s beta offering (remember, I didn’t get an invite): ridiculous.
How is this better or worse than Spiral Frog’s attempt? It’s not, it’s the same flawed idea. Get a consumer to watch ads in exchange for a “free” song download. What’s the first thing wrong with that idea? You can’t make sure the consumer saw the ad and didn’t just minimize the Free All Music window (a behavior that the CNET blogger cheekily noted he’d never endorse, of course). Second, what do you think the value of an impression is when the media being exchanged with the consumer can be readily acquired for free or a small amount on many services? In other words, Free All Music channel isn’t the only place to get it.
But what interested me about the story was a comment from a reader who said he/she hoped the model worked because it’s “…perfect for those of us with a low to moderate appetite for music.”
So consumers with a “…low to moderate appetite for music” – meaning they aren’t passionate about it, they aren’t into music – are willing to deal with ads to get free versions of something they are kind of interested in?
Please, somebody tell me how this is going to be a real business. Tell me how this is going to be an important revenue stream for the music industry.
The post It’s 2010, Didn’t We Bury the Advertising-Supported-Song-Download-Model Last Year? appeared first on Mike McGuire.