More and more starts in the music industry are trying out these new distribution methods. Apart from ‘new media’ artists, who have forged a reputation by releasing free samples online, some established music stars have also followed the route.

In July, Prince gave away his latest album for free, as a supplement with the Mail on Sunday. Indie rockers The Charlatans are planning to give away their next album as a free download.

Does this sound familiar? This resembles the news industry debating whether to offer content for free or not. Blogs and new media have definitely adopted the free approach, while traditional media initially tended towards an online paid-for model. But now even the traditional newspapers are offering their content for free (most recent example: FT.com, but also TimesSelect and talks about WSJ.com), and thinking of business models that could involve donations, or even the not-for-profit route.

Source: Brand Republic