I’ve long said that other industries – particularly print, television and film – can learn a lot from the brutal upheavals that the music industry has gone through related to digital conversion. So here is a very specific example of how a band is adding value to the "analog" live-concert experience by adding "digital" perks. These types of pricing/value strategies are in integral part of the service design process.

The pop band No Doubt is giving away a free download of its entire digital audio catalogue, comprising more than 80 songs from the band’s seven studio albums, when a consumer buys one of their top-tiered concert tickets. Tickets for the No Doubt tour, which kicked off May 2 in Atlantic City, has a variable pricing model based on venue. The free download offer applies only to top-ticket price levels, typically priced at $42.50 USD or higher. (Of course, this is before additional ticketing-related fees kick in.) In addition to the band’s past songs, the download will also include "Stand and Deliver," a brand-new song that will be performed for the first time in May.

There are a number of these types of bundling deals happening in the music industry, and clients in other industries would be well served to carefully watch the music industry as the "canary in the coal mine." What opportunities exist for you to add value value to your service by bundling in digital assets?

Angry fan
by Crashmaster007

Friend and colleague David Cooper of Foxman Group has a great insight on the difference between going to see live sports and live music. "At a concert, you have 20,000 people, all of whom are having a great time. Everybody walks out happy. But at a sporting event, the whole idea is that half of those people are going to go home very ticked off because their team lost."

This is one of those insights that you take for granted, until you really start to think about. People pay lots of money and spend lots of time, only to be made miserable. (Same holds true with gambling, but in that case at least the customer has hope that they will go home richer. )

Of course, that loss stings even more after paying for the ticket, sitting in traffic, paying $12 to park and another $7 for a flat Bud Lite…