It’s a bit odd to see a major label executive saying he likes the freemium services Spotify, MOG and Rdio have established and that the industry has finally figured it out. Or is it not so odd?
Here’s what Warner Music VP of Digital Strategy Michael Nash had to say to CNET:
On Spotify, Rdio, MOG, and other services that offer free music: “The industry has finally figured out free. The recent announcement for all these free offers is from a licensing standpoint the right approach…Free didn’t work before. It was once used (by such defunct sites as Imeem and Spiralfrog) to drive engagement with ads. What we’re looking for now is for free to drive engagement with subscription services.”
But as Jesus rightfully points out, part of the music industry’s free music enlightenment came with the idea of paying artists even less in royalties while they struck lucrative cash deals with each service. So maybe it’s no wonder why they like this new model so much. [CNET]