Lets face facts - sometimes the music isn't enough.

Who, if anyone, will be the first to successfully harness the obvious consumer demand for readily available downloading and address same in a fashion whereby all parties involved feel they achieved something as a result of the transaction? This is a question which has vexed, and continues to vex, many labels, publishers and artists.

An interesting proposition was floated at Bats HQ recently whereby the notion of a reward scheme for music fans was discussed. Think "Air miles".

Has anyone thought as to how consumers (those who buy music downloads as opposed to those who think that the internet fairy makes music for free) might respond if their download transaction gave them something more than just music, artwork and the quiet satisfaction of knowing that they haven't broken the law?

The monetized value of music has diminished to the point that we have a generation of people who have never actually experienced paying for music, indeed the very notion of paying for music is an entirely alien concept to them, their mindset is that music should be free. Anyone involved in music knows that this is neither sustainable nor realistic. Free music never put food on anyone's table and free music does not pay bills.

The genie is out of the bottle, downloads are not going away and you cannot beat people about the head with pseudo legal arguments in an attempt to make them see the error of their ways. The damages awarded in the Jamie Thomas-Rasset case, whilst not determined by the plaintiffs, were obscene and did nothing but further propagate the notion put forward by those who believe that music should be free that everyone in the music industry is driven by greed and the desire to bathe in money. It was nothing short of a pyrrhic victory on the part of the "music industry" and a PR coup for those who claim to be fighting "The man".

Artists should be thankful that there are still consumers who recognize the flawed nature of the "free" argument. Those consumers are the lifeblood of what remains of an industry which reacted too slowly and has fought for too long, too disjointed and at too great a cost in human, never mind monetary, terms to address the mindset of free.

Those consumers should be encouraged and rewarded for their efforts and loyalty. Artists, labels and publishers should now be consolidating their existing relationships with these consumers and thereby encouraging others to come on board.

What if there was the prospect of something more physically tangible for consumers who download music? What if consumers were awarded points for each legal download they made? In theory these points could be awarded on an incremental scale - hypothetically lets say 0.5 points for a single track download and perhaps 7 points for a full album download - accumulated and exchanged at a later date for, by way of example, merchandise or a ticket / discounted ticket to a live show.

Participating artists could offer additional loyalty incentives (autographed photo sets, meet and greets, name listings on up and coming releases) the list of potential incentives for consumers is limited only by the ability / willingness of the artists to be creative in their thinking and engage those consumers who elect to partake in any such scheme.

It can't be that hard for the multitude of online digital retailers like Amazon, I-tunes etc to get their heads around - in fact it should be attractive to them. If a consumer strikes up a relationship with an artist through their stores then they also benefit from that consumer loyalty as that is where their rewards points are centralized. Obviously artists could set up and tailor specific incentives unique to a certain download store - affording both the artist and store the opportunity to develop exclusives which they feel might prove attractive to existing and potential consumers.

The bottom line is that it's a buyers market out there and sometimes the music isn't enough.

Discuss.

The Bats