The Naked Violin Strips the Price Tag Off Classical Music

Tasmin Little is offering a collection of her works entitled "The Naked Violin" for free download. At first glance, it may seem she is simply attempting the same publicity stunt previously employed by artists such as Prince and Radiohead. Closer inspection reveals that each of these efforts represents a subtle refinement to the legally free music business model.

Prince was the first major artist to give away a significant amount his music for free. Through a partnership with the UK newspaper "Mail" and via free give aways while on tour, Prince widely distributed free copies of his "Planet Earth CD". The massive giveaway did not set will with the mainstream music industy. With this first act of rebellion, Prince set the stage for other artists to defy the industry's standard distribution model.

Radiohead took things to the next level by eliminating the physical medium entirely. Radiohead offered their album "In Rainbows" for free download. While the download was free, Radiohead did set out the digital donation box asking fans to pay as little or as much as they liked for the album. Acording to ComScore nearly forty percent of those who downloaded the album dropped something in the tip jar.

Now Tasmin has setup her own free download. Like Radiohead, she is asking for voluntarily contributions from listeners. Rather than ask listeners to pay directly, she encourages them to purchase a CD, go to a concert or simply give her feedback on why they will not be doing either.

Tasmin's offering differs in another important way as well. Unlike the previous offerings from Prince and Radiohead, which represented works from the artist's pre-existing catalog, Tasmin has crafted her music gift specifically for web distribution. She is actively targeting those who would not normally go out and purchase her work or attend a classical concert. In addition to the music, Tasmin has provided commentary and instructional material to help educators introduce children to classical music.

A mashup of Tasmin and Radiohead's strategies may represent the future of free music distribution by major artists. Rather than offering the same music they put on CD or sell in on line stores, artists may be able to utilize the "honesty box" to get support from existing fans, and introduce new fans to their work without asking them to pay before they press play. By offering high quality selections that differ from that found on their retail CD's or played in concert, traditional labels may find the idea more tolerable as well.

With time, and support from enough artists, such a model could shift the public perception of how music should be purchased. If the majority of people become accustomed to the idea of investing in the production of more music, rather than paying for what they want to hear, the pay-to-play model may vanish entirely.

In the meantime, go give "The Naked Violin" a listen and let Tasmin know what you think.