SonyBMG Chairman: "Free content will build trust"

From MusicWeek
15 November 2006 - 15:27:50

Sony BMG chairman Ged Doherty told today’s Beyond The Soundbytes Conference that labels may have to learn to give content away free if they are to make money in the digital age.

Doherty said the music industry must find ways of re-establishing trust with both artists and consumers in order to find new ways of doing business in the digital age, in which outsiders like Apple, MySpace and YouTube are radically changing old business models. Part of this process, he suggested, was to give fans some content without charging for it.

Discussing possible business models for the future, Doherty said, “It may mean giving stuff away for free in order to get through the door and establish trust. Once you get through the door you may be able to sell them something – look at the way the live industry has taken off. We need to connect first and then figure out what we can sell them and how the artist gets paid.”