Comments on: The 10 Changes a CEO needs to make to win young consumers – 4 Give First (Free is a viable business model) http://www.mobileyouth.org/post/the-10-changes-a-ceo-needs-to-make-to-win-young-consumers-4-give-first-free-is-a-viable-business-model/ Youth marketing mobile culture since 2001 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:12:55 +0000 hourly 1 By: steve.purdham.we7 http://www.mobileyouth.org/post/the-10-changes-a-ceo-needs-to-make-to-win-young-consumers-4-give-first-free-is-a-viable-business-model/comment-page-1/#comment-213 steve.purdham.we7 Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:09:22 +0000 http://www.mobileyouth.org/post/the-10-changes-a-ceo-needs-to-make-to-win-young-consumers-4-give-first-free-is-a-viable-business-model/#comment-213 Hi Graham I read your post with interest, especially this point – “Building dialogue with youth also requires an investment first before a return. The investment is giving up something of value to you and your company in return for their trust and long term loyalty. In the context of the bigger financial picture, giving something away “free” can often be a shrewd profitable move.” I’m CEO of www.we7.com an ad-supported music download model, and this is just the message we are beginning to get through to the music and advertising industries. Consumers get free, safe, legal, DRM-free music with a short ad on the front which they know the artist has been paid fairly for, and they can later re-download their track without the ad. One of the key elements we are finding is that 'free' is actually a misleading term. Its really should be sub-titled "paid for by someone or something else". For example in the music download arena 'free' music in my view does not devalue music because its the music the youth want but the situation is they do not want to pay a financial sum but are prepared to pay with time , this then gets bartered with an advertiser who pays the financial elements so Artists get paid. So the creation of 'free' is really acheived by introducing additional players into the mix so each person gets what they want out of the relationship, in our case , people get 'free' music, advertisers get listened to and artists get paid. Thanks Steve Purdham – CEO – We7 Hi Graham
I read your post with interest, especially this point – “Building dialogue with youth also requires an investment first before a return. The investment is giving up something of value to you and your company in return for their trust and long term loyalty. In the context of the bigger financial picture, giving something away “free” can often be a shrewd profitable move.”

I’m CEO of http://www.we7.com an ad-supported music download model, and this is just the message we are beginning to get through to the music and advertising industries. Consumers get free, safe, legal, DRM-free music with a short ad on the front which they know the artist has been paid fairly for, and they can later re-download their track without the ad.

One of the key elements we are finding is that ‘free’ is actually a misleading term. Its really should be sub-titled “paid for by someone or something else”. For example in the music download arena ‘free’ music in my view does not devalue music because its the music the youth want but the situation is they do not want to pay a financial sum but are prepared to pay with time , this then gets bartered with an advertiser who pays the financial elements so Artists get paid.

So the creation of ‘free’ is really acheived by introducing additional players into the mix so each person gets what they want out of the relationship, in our case , people get ‘free’ music, advertisers get listened to and artists get paid.
Thanks
Steve Purdham – CEO – We7

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