There's No Free Lunch - and there doesn’t need to be

Artists and corporations have lost billions to the “borrowers’ market”, i.e., illegal downloading. But at last, a win-win solution appears on the horizon for all - including the pirates…walk the plank anyone?! It seems the debate over online content "FOR FREE" (jeeez, how I hate that expression!) has finally found an amicable resolution for, at least, the music industry.

This month, FreeAllMusic.com, offers a service that allows users to download songs "which may be copied and shared — unencumbered, in other words, by digital rights management restrictions."

What's the catch here then? Well, instead of paying the 99 cent iTunes fee, you’ll have to watch a 15- to 30-second ad. The ad, however, is of the viewers choosing, and as the viewer is in full control over the choice of song and commercial, the viewer has opted in, engaged and is a whole lot more receptive to the message delivered.

Says FreeAllMusic.com, “We have made this process easier than stealing.” Brilliant, but what took you guys so long?

As technology morphs, marketing and marketers will follow suit, finding, creating (or stumbling upon) new solutions to accommodate changing needs and trends. To be sure, these are truly exciting and challenging times to be involved in marketing. And I find stories like the one about FreeAllMusic inspiring as it shows how capable we are of adapting to new environments and of handling the challenges they pose. For those armed with some creativity and vision, the sky really is the limit!

2010.....BRING IT ON!