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Overhype

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Dec 28th 2009 12:51pm




Filed Under:
free, music, tweetdeck

Companies:
best buy, interscope, tweetdeck


Interscope And Best Buy Team Up To Give You A Free Twitter Application For Free (With Purchase)

from the well,-hot-damn dept

Dear major record labels: when we suggested you learn how to embrace "free" in your marketing and promotions, this isn't quite what we meant. Consumerist points out that Interscope (part of Universal Music) has put together a promotion with Best Buy, whereby if you buy a CD from certain Interscope artists, you get a free copy of the software Tweetdeck. Well, that's nice... other than the fact that Tweetdeck is already free. Great deal! Now, to be fair, the copy of Tweetdeck you get is a special "customized" version that automatically has you following 16 Interscope artists (even if you only bought a CD from one of them). Of course, you could also just follow any of those artists yourself (again, for free), so it's not quite clear what the promotion is. But, they sure seem to suggest it's a big deal in the Best Buy newspaper ad:

Now, I guess, to some extent, we should note that it's a good thing that a major record label is admitting publicly that "free" can act as a good promotion -- so kudos to Interscope for taking that big step. It's also nice to see Interscope recognize that an infinite good (software) can potentially help sell more scarce goods (CDs). But, on the whole, it definitely seems like this promotion could have been handled a lot better. Pumping up the "free" aspect of something that's already free just doesn't seem that compelling.

20 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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Reader Comments (rss)

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  1.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 12:56pm

    Sounds like they are freeloading off of twitter :)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Re:

    icon
    Hephaestus (profile), Dec 28th, 2009 @ 1:00pm

    "freeloading off of twitter "

    TweetLoading?? ;)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    Re: Re:

    identicon
    Anonymous Poster, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 1:11pm

    Sounds more like a load of Bulltweet to me.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    icon
    Robert Ring (profile), Dec 28th, 2009 @ 1:15pm

    As I was reading this, I was like, Wait. I have that app, and it's already free. Then I read, "Well, that's nice... other than the fact that Tweetdeck is already free."

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    Free Google Search

    identicon
    Mikes, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 1:44pm

    This coupon entitles you to 2 Free Google Searches (with purchase of $9.99 or more). Just click here: http://www.google.com

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    John, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 1:45pm

    It's compelling if it also helps generate FREE publicity. Plus, it's probably seems a little easier to install from CD. Maybe there's a BONUS root kit too.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  

    Re:

    icon
    Hephaestus (profile), Dec 28th, 2009 @ 2:01pm

    "Maybe there's a BONUS root kit too."

    ... this is Interscope not Sony ... ;)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  

    Good News / Bad News

    icon
    Dark Helmet (profile), Dec 28th, 2009 @ 2:02pm

    Good News: They've got the free part down....

    Bad News: Scarce goods ironically still elude them....

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  

    Re:

    icon
    Hephaestus (profile), Dec 28th, 2009 @ 2:03pm

    "Maybe there's a BONUS root kit too."

    ... this is Interscope not Sony ... ;)

    but you just have to love those bonus tracks on Sony's CD's

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 2:11pm

    The only things big corporations know how to do is to take something that should be free or cheap and make it cost (more) money. They often accomplish this by lobbying the government (ie: for monopolies, such as patents and monopolies on who can use existing and build new cableco/telco infrastructure and also for monopolies on public airwaves). This is just another attempt to take something that's already free and monetize it. They also do it by buying up small businesses that offer a decent product for a decent price and making the free offering suck (ie Hamachi VPN) or taking away the free offering altogether. Just be thankful this particular example doesn't involve government lobbying.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  

    Re:

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 2:22pm

    Not to mention monopolizing who can be a taxi cab driver. Those evil corporations, their business model only involves monetizing things that would be free without them and this is just another example of how difficult it is for them to escape their unethical business model.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  

    Re: Free Google Search

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 2:32pm

    no thanks, "I'm feeling lucky"

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  13.  

    Tweetdeck for Free !!

    identicon
    geoff Lord, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 3:22pm

    hi there the tweetdeck application is a free tool but if you join via the free version offered here it also pre loads many high volume tweeters for you so its worth joining Hyper-Advertiser.com

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  14.  
    icon
    lavi d (profile), Dec 28th, 2009 @ 3:33pm

    Now, I guess, to some extent, we should note that it's a good thing that a major record label is admitting publicly that "free" can act as a good promotion -- so kudos to Interscope for taking that big step.

    Mike. Now you're just being mean.

    :)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  15.  

    Re:

    icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), Dec 28th, 2009 @ 5:37pm


    Mike. Now you're just being mean.

    Heh. And the only reason I added that sentence was because someone here read that post earlier and said it was too mean, and that I should at least state something positive in Interscope using free. So I added that sentence. :)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  16.  

    Re: Re:

    icon
    ChurchHatesTucker (profile), Dec 28th, 2009 @ 7:10pm

    I don't get it. They're doing exactly what you've advocated, yet are still being mocked. What's the diff?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  17.  

    Re: Re: Re:

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 28th, 2009 @ 9:39pm

    Copying someone else is not what he said to do. To advance one must offer innovative solutions, not merely charge for something that someone already freely offers.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  18.  

    other bands

    identicon
    stephen, Dec 29th, 2009 @ 6:25am

    so interscope's promotion is basically to give you something free that's already free but loaded up with promotional materials for their other bands. how is this different than dell saddling their computers will AOL and other crapware?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  19.  

    BestBuy.com/tweetdeck

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 29th, 2009 @ 8:36am

    funny, the url in the promo doesn't work for me. Am I spelling something wrong?
    bestbuy.com/tweetdeck

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  20.  

    From the other side... Tweetdeck is doing whats right.

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 30th, 2009 @ 5:09am

    If tweetdeck is selling the rights to bundle its software
    in a commercial product it seems. They are doing what's exactly right by giving away their product to home users and still managing to benefit from their work.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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