Playing for free

I thought I would comment about playing for free. In business there is often a question of how much you give away and how much and when do you charge. Free samples has long been a successful sales tactic as long as you don’t give away the store.

In music, giving away a CD to get a gig or a T-shirt to a fan is always a good idea. Playing a couple of songs for free on a Sunday morning to get people to come to a paid concert Sunday night is also a sound practice.

I know from business experience that people perceive value based upon cost. We naturally assume that if something is free it must be worthless. Competing solely on price is a dead end for any business. There are many products that are desirable simply because they are expensive…$100 concert tickets? …$100,000 cars? There are some things that are perceived to be of little value because they are cheap or free, for example, ball point pens and free concerts.

Playing for a “love offering” or “passing the hat” is not playing for free if the audience understands that they are merely being given a choice as to how much they want to pay, and if there is a reasonable assumption that there will be a good attendance.

Sky Blue has decided that we will play if any of the following situations apply: 1. We get paid (more than minimum wage); 2. There is significant ministry likely (prisons, etc); or 3. There is an obvious chance to increase our fan base (opening for a national act). If none of those things apply, for example, playing for free to six people, we will pass.

What do you think?