3 Simple Methods To Share Your Music

if only i could bowl this well my arm wouldn't be so sore

Photo Credit: diongillard

The other day I found myself in the local bowling alley getting my ass handed to me by 3 of my mates. True to its name the music at the bowling alley was horrible, horrible 90's pop. We sat through it for a good hour, reminiscing about when we first heard the songs. The nostalgia was flying thick as we amused ourselves with Hampton the Hamster and sat in horror whilst we endured the Backstreet Boys.

One of my mates (I think he ended up winning) discovered he could request a song to be played over the PA. What a thought, some good music? It came at a price though. One request was equal to the cost of an iTunes download for the same song. I sat there wondering whether or not he was willing to pay such a comparatively large sum for one listen. He could have bought the song, DRM free for the same it cost to request it. So did he request a song? Many times.

What this story does highlight however, is how much we like to share music.

For me, paying that price to listen to a song over the PA once seemed rather expensive. After all online radio and streaming services only pay (usually) 0.1-4 cents a play. A request was about $USD1.20 per song. It turns out that the joy of sharing his favourite music amongst friends was worth it for him. And it was, because he went on to request about 3 more songs.

There's a few very very important variables at play here. Firstly at the bowling alley, the music was bad. You could say that good music was scarce. Secondly we were a group of friends out for some fun, and we are all into music. Thirdly, he valued sharing his brand of music enough to pay for it. Finally and perhaps most importantly, the ease of transaction to request a song (just using small change) was not large.

Sorry to burst any ones bubble at this point but, this doesn't (and won't) exactly translate the same on the internet. Online, music is far from scarce. It's amazingly abundant. Good music, whilst hard to find is still available for free.

Secondly, most people online are by themselves at their computer (not quite as social a a few mates at a bowling alley), and thirdly it is severely discouraging to ask someone to pay for something online. In the world of atoms, where transactions consist of spare change payment is quick and easy, it may be a paywall but its small enough for the sheer majority to climb over. But once you step online, that paywall becomes incredibly tall.

3 methods to encourage sharing

What this story does highlight however, is how much we like to share music. We all want our friends to share the same musical experiences we do. We want them to enjoy the same music we do. Online it would be a serious faux pas to charge someone to share your music. By share I don't mean unauthorised downloads, rather sharing a link to a Myspace, Soundcloud or Bandcamp page. Essentially sharing is enabling someone else to access the same content you did.

1. You should make it as easy as possible for a fan to share and spread your music. Make sharing links simple and prominent. Not overpowering, but obvious enough that it becomes the next logical step after listening. Ironically, no matter how hard you attempt to stop someone sharing your music, if they believe it is of enough value to someone else they will find a way. Make it easy so even those who are not die hard fans will decide to send your link onto their friends.

2. Encourage your fans to share your music. A recent survey showed that the majority of content was shared through facebook and email. AddThis and AddToAny buttons may be good (I have one at the bottom of the page) they are not the best for music. Your fans don't need a few hundred methods to share. People hate choice, you should partially make it for them. Have prominent links to share on Facebook, Twitter, Email and a few others if you think your fans would want more. Don't over complicate things. People are more than likely to share, or engage in action, if you don't confuse and overburden them with unnecessary options.

3. Give them incentives to share your music. Try something like Bandcamp or ReverbNation. A fan can download your album, only after suggesting your music to 5 friends. Not only do you have the potential to gain 5 new fans, you gain one dedicated, satisfied fan, you also gain email addresses.

Don't underestimate a newly recruited, or existing fan's desire to share your music. Most of all embrace this. Take advantage of their desire to share your music, and let your fans do the bulk of your active promoting.

Online, music and any 'content' for that matter is not scarce but, good music is more scarce, if only because it needs to be found. Your fans are willing to pay this scarcity on behalf of their friends as they believe they are giving value to their friends. However they will only pay with their own time and attention, never with money. They share it. Let them.