Tom Fox is an award-winning international guitarist, singer and songwriter who has come up with a simple solution to the problem of digital distribution of his music: Give it away.
Bookmark and Share  You can share, blog, bookmark or socialize the above site by clicking the "SHARE" button above.
Search URLwire archives

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Tom Fox is one of a small but growing group of artists giving away music for free rather than charging or having fans fined for stealing it. On his Web site at foxtunes.com, Tom has made CDs of free music downloads available, including songs from "Midnight Rain" (which was nominated for two independent music awards) and "Slowly" (which garnered radio spins on both sides of the Atlantic).

When asked about the wisdom of giving his music away for nothing, Tom replied, "Many musicians are so afraid of losing out on a 99 cent iTunes sale that they forget that giving away music free and legally has promotional value.”

“Offering free MP3s can accelerate the growth of your online listener base, which ultimately can generate exposure in the form of gig offers, Internet and satellite/terrestrial radio play (generating royalties) and traffic to your site," he said.

So instead of giving music away, it’s really more a long-term investment in listeners and the music. There's never been a wiser time to get your MP3s legally. We live in a climate where illegal MP3 sharing can bring you sharply into focus on the RIAA's radar and can cost you an arm, leg and your  house at $750 per infringed song. Just ask Jammie Thomas, a  single mother of two who was found liable in 2007 for 24 acts of infringement and ordered to pay $222,000 in damages.

Giving music away free is a proven way of doing business online. Tom reminds fellow musicians that Web traffic has value in of itself. It can be monetized by affiliate programs and contextual advertising. Existing models like the Ruckus network, a free ad-supported U.S. music service available to college students, and the Internet record label Magnatunes, which encourages buyers to copy any album and give it away free to as many as three friends, are evidence it can also be done with music. “They are the way forward,” said Tom.

When asked what he thought about Tom giving away free music downloads, New York attorney Ray Beckerman of the Recording Industry Vs. The People blog said, "Artists can and should make their music directly available; they will make a better living, and their fans will get better value.”

“As to whether it should be disseminated for free,” he continued, “I'm no marketing expert, but it seems to me that one has only to look at the record companies to learn what they have always known all too well, which is that one of the best ways of marketing music is to offer at least some of it for free, to expose people to what you are doing, and to generate word of mouth. And many of the people who hear something the first time for free will become customers for life.”

About Tom Fox
Tom Fox is an award-winning international guitarist, singer and songwriter who has come up with a simple solution to the problem of digital distribution of his music: Give it away. His Foxtunes.com Web site has an efficient, uncomplicated design that allows easy access to free, legal MP3 downloads, with no membership or signup required. Contact tom at news@tomfox.net

Posted by Eric Ward at  11:28 AM CST
Tags: Tom Fox, music, foxtunes.com, free music downloads, MP3
Permanent URLwire URL for this page is: http://www.urlwire.com/news/091608.html

• How to Announce Content on URLwire
Read more about URLwire services and fees
Read more new site announcements

Notices, copyrights, credits
This is the Web version of URLwire. Other versions include private email, RSS feed, Blog, Google Group, MSN Group. URLwire is a daily news alert service which announces quality Web content and online events/happenings.  URLwire is sent by private email only to people who review and write about new web sites. URLwire is matched personally by me to your subject interests, is not automated, and importantly, is not annoying. Subscribe via my contact page. 

Online news headline linking services are welcome to link to this story. As requested, stock quote links in URLwire stories are provided courtesy of StreetIQ ®

Read URLwire Via:
...
RSS feed

Add URLwire headlines to 











URLwire widget

What is URLwire?
URLwire is a news service for people who write about web sites. Since 1994, URLwire has announced quality web content to the right people and places.

Who reads URLwire?
Several key groups: 1). Editors and site reviewers looking for great sites to write about and link to.  2). Search engines 3). News aggregators. How to receive URLwire

Announcing your site:
I only announce useful, unique, or educational web content. How to announce content