Electronic music label Spinnin' Records has launched its own premium subscription download service, but it differs from premium services like Spotify and Apple Music. The difference is that, unlike its bigger competitors, Spinnin's premium service offers downloads completely free of charge.
The music industry is going through a slew of changes, which have resulted in much turmoil for artists, labels and the streamers and digital download delivery services that supply fans with their favorite tracks. A shift from downloads to streaming has been taking place for quite a while, and it seems like everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie.
Now, Spinnin' Records is launching a new business model in which it plans to give away music to fans at absolutely no cost. Fans simply need to sign up for the service to have access to free downloads of new tracks for a two-week window upon release. The first track, "Ghost Child" by Firebeatz & Apster featuring Spree Wilson, is already available to subscribers, who can sign up here.
Spinnin' CEO Eelkovan Kooten explained: "The music industry is changing rapidly. The focus is shifting from paying for your music to streaming and other freemium models. People are now expecting music to be available how and whenever they want it. We've always acknowledged this by sharing as much of our releases as possible on social media and streaming sites, [and] now we break down that final wall by giving away the music as free downloads."
This follows an announcement from top EDM DJ and artist Martin Garrix, who said he will be giving away all of his tracks for free from now on. It appears the philosophy behind the moves is that the real money in EDM is getting booked for paid DJ gigs at clubs and festivals, and giving away tracks that trend will ultimately raise artists' live appearance fees.
Spinnin' Records also maintains an artist management division that represents many of the artists on the label. Therefore, it appears the company is willing to forgo initial revenue from paid downloads for tunes in exchange for what it hopes will ultimately be a larger payday for live appearances. In other words, music is basically now acting as a free promotional tool to increase the popularity of the artists, who, along with Spinnin', will ultimately earn more from live gigs.
