June 27, 2007

Pro:

We don't make any real money from selling it anyway, so why not give it away?

People already buy the tracks we give away. "Silence," "The Long Night," and "Ocean Blue" are usually our top tracks at iTunes, even though we offer free 192k mp3 versions of those songs on our website.

The increased exposure might lead to licensing opportunities -- ads, film, or TV, which is probably our best shot at breaking even or making a modest income from the music.

More attention from bloggers, etc. We've gotten a fair amount of attention in the past from music bloggers, but they might be more interested in spreading the word about a "free album" as opposed to a few free tracks.

Ego boost: If we're unlikely to make money from our music, having more people hear it is something of a consolation, might get us on more iPods, total number of listeners on Last.fm, iLike, etc.

Con:

Would it make us seem desperate or less "real?"

You get what you pay for. Do people appreciate it less if they don't have to pay for it?

We wouldn't be the first to do it, so it might not get us that much attention anyway.

Bloggers, reviewers, and radio might take us less seriously: "not a real band, just another group giving away mp3s..."