Sample This!

While broadcasters use music to sell ads, artists and record companies are trying to sell the music itself. Of course, one of the most time-honored ways to sell something is to give away a few samples. The Internet offers the first practical way to do so with music. Click here and hear a tune, click there to buy the whole album. If you're offering audio files as an enticement to buy, then your strategy will differ from that of the broadcaster described in the last section, although you may use the same technology.

How much of the goodies to offer for free? There are as many answers as there are marketers. Some sites offer a measly ten-second clip at a low-quality setting, while others make whole CDs available in high-quality MP3 or .wav files. Generally, the less well-known the artist, the more free sounds will be forthcoming (although bands like the Dead and Phish have other ideas).

As with other types of large media offered through the Web, the best sites generally offer a choice of versions, perhaps a low-bandwidth and a high-bandwidth version. Streaming media authoring tools allow you to create files of different quality levels, which are sometimes referred to by the amount of bandwidth for which they are recommended. For example, a link that says "28.8k" means that this file is recommended for those poor souls with a 28.8k connection.

For folks who just want a quick shot to see if they dig it or not, consider including a short snippet of a song in a low-bandwidth (28.8k, perhaps) streaming format. For fans who deserve the good stuff, and have the bandwidth to go for it, offer a downloadable MP3 version. As always, make sure each link is clearly labeled with file format, recommended bandwidth and expected download time.

Actually you can get very elaborate with this, and many sites do, offering several choices of file format and bandwidth. Pick a format (Quicktime, Windows Media, RealMedia, MP3, .wav) and stick with it, or offer them all. Better yet, change to a different one every week or so. I don't care, because I already discussed the three-way streaming media format battle at length in a previous article. The major streaming formats all work fine, and none has a commanding lead at this point, so use any or all. For downloadable files, I recommend MP3s. The quality isn't quite as good as non-compressed formats like .wav, but it's darn close, and the savings in file size is large.

Should you let users download sample audio files, or make them play-only, as a "broadcaster" would? Again, it depends on the artist. Picture a "hot MP3" being passed around all over the world - An up-and-coming artist might see some priceless guerilla marketing going on, while to an established million-seller, it might look more like lost record sales. A particularly auspicious strategy is to make the online offerings special ones that aren't available on CD, such as a live performance or an alternate take.

Broadcasting Music Online
Digital Distribution of Music
Closing the Sale