More Proof - “Free” Can Have Value
By Brad Stephenson | January 5, 2009
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I’ve stated on our blog and podcast many times that you can offer your content for free without devaluing that content.
Frequent followers will recall two interviews with independent musician Jonathan Coulton (podcasts #38 and #55), who has given most of his music away and still manages to make a decent living. (I cannot define “decent” exactly, but I imagine he does quite well for himself.)
Well, thanks to Amazon’s 2008 best-selling albums list, I have even more proof that free does not equal worthless. According to ReadWriteWeb, the best-selling album in Amazon’s MP3 store for 2008 was Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails. Interestingly, that same album was available for free (and legally!) in March via BitTorrent under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license.
This means that either: A) People ignored the fact that the album was available for free and opted to pay, or B) people downloaded the album for free and paid after listening because they felt it was worth the money. A third option, of course, is that people were just too dumb or lazy to figure out how to use BitTorrent. This, however, is unlikely. After all, this is the fan base for Nine Inch Nails we’re talking about here… not Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
This is not to say that opera companies should start giving away tickets. I’m simply saying that arts organizations might consider lightening up a bit when it comes to offering content online.
(”Free LSD” photo courtesy of corypina’s Flickr stream.)
Topics: Community Building, Marketing, Policies & Practices | No Comments »
2009 MUSE Awards Call for Entries
By David Dombrosky | December 30, 2008
The AAM Media and Technology Committee announces the 20th annual MUSE awards competition. Presented to institutions or independent producers which use digital media to enhance the museum experience and engage new audiences, the MUSE awards celebrate scholarship, innovation, creativity and inclusivity. Projects must be produced by or for a museum, including websites, podcasts, multimedia installations, interactive kiosks in the museum, cell phone audio tours in a garden, etc. Winning projects for each category are chosen by an international group of museum media professionals and the awards will be presented at the AAM annual conference in Philadelphia, PA from April 30-May 4, 2009.
Online applications must be submitted January 31, 2009. If you have any questions please contact Sarah Marcotte, MUSE Awards Chair.
Topics: Announcements, Art Meets Tech, Conferences | 2 Comments »
Leaving CAMT
By Brad Stephenson | December 29, 2008
After three years with CAMT, I will be stepping down as director of projects and marketing to begin the next phase of my career. On January 19, 2009, I will become the Web Content Manager for Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College. I’ll be in the same building as CAMT, but it saddens me deeply that I will no longer be working with our many great clients and partners.
Connecting with so many amazing people is just one of the numerous reasons I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience with CAMT.
Through January 9, 2009, I will continue to be the CAMT contact for new projects. After January 9, 2009, Josh Futrell will be your contact for both project and support issues. You can reach him at support@camt-hosting.org (support items) and camt@artsnet.org (project items).
For the time being, I will continue to post on the Technology in the Arts blog and host our bi-weekly podcast. So please continue to contact me at podcast@technologyinthearts.org with questions and tech updates.
(NOTE: The image above is from the late 70s TV version of The Incredible Hulk. To add to the sad departure atmosphere, click below to listen to the walking away song from the show.)
Topics: Announcements, CAMT Updates | 1 Comment »
Call for Session Proposals - 2009 Technology in the Arts: Canada
By David Dombrosky | December 22, 2008
Proposals for sessions and workshops are currently being accepted for the 2009 Technology in the Arts: Canada Conference to be held in Waterloo & Stratford, Ontario from May 10-12, 2009. This year’s conference is being held in conjunction with the Canada 3.0: Defining Canada’s Digital Future Conference.
The deadline for submitting your proposal is Monday, January 19, 2009.
Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Announcements, Art Meets Tech, Conferences | 2 Comments »
Technology in the Arts #56
By Brad Stephenson | December 22, 2008
Happy holidays, everyone! This episode features a discussion of Twitter and Net Neutrality.
Use the following handy-dandy links to follow along:
Cool Sites of the Episode
Brad: UnderwaterSculpture.com
Jason: Muppets on YouTube
We’ll be taking a short hiatus for the holidays, but we’ll return in January with more arts and technology goodness!
Again, special thanks to composer and sound designer Joseph Fosco for providing our new theme song. Learn about Joseph and his work at www.JosephFosco.com.
Reminder - If you have any questions or interesting discussion items, please send them to podcast@technologyinthearts.org.
Topics: Art Meets Tech, Marketing, Podcasts, Policies & Practices | 3 Comments »
Home Page Call To Action Survey
By Josh Futrell | December 17, 2008
Though it might be debatable, it’s a commonly held belief that the home page is the most important page of a Web site. A home page must quickly communicate the soul of an organization to a visitor and provide a visitor with easy access to relevant information. Often, it is the most vital and heavily trafficked piece of real estate on your organization’s Web site.
We recently wondered: how effectively are performing arts organizations in the field using their home pages?
We conducted a survey that examined three common calls to action that we believe all performing arts organizations should have prominently placed on their home page:
- ordering and purchasing tickets
- donating or contributing money
- joining or subscribing to a mailing list or newsletter
These are three actions that most performing arts organizations want their Web site visitors to be easily take. So, just how easy are their home pages making it?
We were also curious to see how many organizations were still using splash (Flash introductions or animations, slide shows, etc.) or landing pages that delay the visitor from getting to the actual home page.
Click past the jump for more information on how we conducted the survey and for the results.
Topics: Marketing, Policies & Practices | 5 Comments »
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