There’s been a quick but lengthy conversation on Shaun Groves’ blog in the past few days about Derek Webb’s recent viral offering of his album Mockingbird.
First, I appreciate Shaun’s involvement with his fans…it’s nice to see an artist blogging, and responding to posts in a timely manner. In my opinion, Shaun deserves a huge kudo. I’m also a huge Caedmon’s Call fan, and I love Derek’s solo stuff too. It made for interesting reading.
Derek draws a parallel between his giveaway and Keith Green’s giveaways. Green offered his albums with no strings attached, asking for donations from those so inclined. Derek is offering his album in exchange for 5 email addresses. I see no reason to complain about either approach. So, you might be asking, what’s the problem? It seems to revolve around the word “free”.
Some people hear “free” and think “no strings attached” while others think “no money changes hands”. Both groups are right, of course. When the second group gets to the download page, they’re happy because they got what they expected: a Derek Webb album with no dollar value attached. When the first group arrives, they’re dismayed to find that they have to give away their friends’ personal information to get the download…making it not really free in their minds.
Unfortunately for Derek, free no longer means “free” when it comes to the internet. Every time we hear news about identity theft we’re reminded that personal information is a valuable commodity. Asking for this stuff APPEARS to be asking for trouble. Now, don’t be confused: Derek isn’t using that information for anything more than saying “come get your free album by giving me 5 more people’s info”. The problem is, in my opinion, bad marketing.
NoiseTrade (who handled the viral marketing) didn’t make the situation abundantly clear up front. They used the word “free” and said that you’d have the opportunity to share the download with friends…but, as the detractors have aptly pointed out, you can’t download the album until you provide 5 addresses. Had they said “free album when you help Derek spread the word” I’m sure very few could find fault with them. Of course, I’m sure fewer people would jump at that opportunity the way they have for “free album”.
Christians should be concerned about public perception. In my opinion, Derek and NoiseTrade simply didn’t think this one through. They’re not doing anything wrong (obviously), but the accusation is that they’ve misled people in the name of good marketing. While many people may expect that from companies like Pepsi and Home Depot, they’d rather not see it done in the name of Christianity.
The only thing I think they’re guilty of is not having considered the situation from all angles. While I blame NoiseTrade for not serving their client as well as they could have, I have to put the results squarely in Derek’s lap. He is, after all, responsible for what’s done in his name. I gladly downloaded the album and had no problem giving up addresses…I have plenty of friends who are looking for good music!
What would I do differently? I’m not sure, as I’m not Derek’s accountant. Here’s one idea: signing up for his free album could give you access to a private web page. You could email the link and password to 5 friends, and the web page would only allow 6 total downloads. That’s not very complicated from a web development point of view, and would clear up the frustration over being asked to give away others’ personal information.
What do you think?
