I must admit, I never thought I’d see Video Professor and Nine Inch Nails in the same sentence. But, this is a band that knows how to market itself and honestly, I like the way they’re doing it.
Several news outlets including the New York Times report that the band’s new album, “The Slip” is available online. O,K., that’s not news. What is news is how they’re offering the album. FREE!
Sound familiar? It did to me!
When we began offering FREE CD lessons to introduce you to the quality and ease of learning with Video Professor, sales rocketed. From that day on, we never looked back.
The music business is currently in a bit of a slump. People aren’t buying complete albums anymore and CD sales just aren’t what they used to be. Using services like iTunes®, music lovers can buy individual songs rather than purchase an entire album. The way people listen to music has changed, and so is the way bands should market it.
So, why is Nine Inch Nails trying the free-marketing approach? Well, for one thing, they have a tour coming up shortly. People will still pay to see hot bands and what better way to get fans to see you live than by giving them a taste of what they’ll see in concert?
According to the article I read in the New York Times, titled “Nine Inch Nails Album Is Free Online” not everyone thinks this will work. But I agree with the band’s manager Jim Guerinot who said “I think free has been very important for a long time.” He said this free offer by the band makes a point to people; “Acknowledge what the marketplace is already showing us: free exists whether you want to acknowledge it or not. Let’s acknowledge that, use it and do something with it.”
I couldn’t agree more.
-John
John W. Scherer
CEO & founder, Video Professor, Inc.
You can reach me at ceo@videoprofessor.com
