I’ve been anticipating this book for a while now (I don’t think I realized how much, actually). Today, as the book comes out in the United States, I’ve been reading some blog posts. I thought I’d share some quick thoughts as I prepare to read FREE: The Future of a Radical Price.

When Chris Anderson first started talking about the economics of free, it naturally piqued my interest as Radical Notion (independent media), my startup, is a company which uses various versions of free as one of the core concepts of it’s business model. Chris Anderson’s discussions on free have been very exciting to me, as it put a name and economic model around many of the strategies on the cutting edge of the music industry. Strategies in which I have found inspiration for my own company. Namely, strategies which bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have acted as leaders for many other bands which are now developing very similar strategies.

I just watched a video of Rich Fahle interviewing Chris Anderson for Borders, discussing his new book. There are a lot of interesting ideas touched on in this interview that I can hardly wait read more about as I study the book. There were a couple of the things I thought particularly interesting in the video, though. One was hearing more of Chris’s thoughts on this idea of “freemium.” And the other was that (according to Chris) people who are over 30 tend to not believe in the idea of free as a business model, and people under 30 say, “no duh” to the idea of free as a business model.

Something that I whole heartedly disagree with, however, happens around the 5:10 mark where Rich Fahle says, “you can’t turn to an expert anymore, in this model that you’re describing, to do all that background business work. It sounds like what you’re describing is you gotta be a business man. If you’re an artist, you also have to be a business manager.”

Of course I totally disagree with this. I think that today, an artist needs a manager in a way that they have never needed one before. They need someone who thinks radically enough to direct their career in a way that is relevant to the changed establishment. To be successful in today’s music world, it is most important to find a manager who not only will pursue and/or invent new ways to harness the power of free (among an infinite number of other new marketing concepts), but an artist needs to find a manager who realizes that it is their obligation to protect this strategy at all costs. Because there will be others who want to partner or invest in the artist, then water down the strategy.

I recommend you watch the video (total length 15:02) [http://www.bordersmedia.com/borderspresents/anderson%20?cmpid=SL_20090707_RWB] Pay attention around 5:35 when Chris says, “Radical Notion.” I love when things like this happen!

Also, in honor of “walking the talk” of the book, Chris Anderson has partnered with a few companies to offer several ways to consume the book:

• The free version on The Long Tail blog (scroll down for audio book options)
• Free physical version available in the UK

For what it’s worth, I think I’ll opt to purchase the book, acquiring the “freemium” version. Nothing like being able to actually touch and smell a creative work.

Got any other links/thoughts/etc about Chris Anderson’s new book, FREE: The Future of a Radical Price? Please post comments.

Talk with you tomorrow, where we’ll get back to our usual discussion of making records.

Well Next Big Nashville 2008 has officially kicked off. I attended two very inspiring discussion panels this morning. The first was titled The New Nashville: What Do We Need? The panelists discussed ideas for how to garner more awareness for Nashville as a rock music town. The discussion sparked a slew of ideas that I can’t wait to explore. The title for the second panel was Psychology and the Art of Artist Management. I soaked in a tremendous amount of knowledge from each panelist, who all have built a high caliber reputation beside the artists they work with.

Next on my list of events to attend is the Mother/Father set at Mercy Lounge tonite at 11pm. www.myspace.com/thisismotherfather. If you are planning to attend this show tonite, I hope that we can connect. Come up and say, “Hi.” I’ll be the guy dressed in all black operating a video camera (if the venue will let me).

I’ve got my personal schedule for the events I plan on attending posted here: nbn08.sched.org/stsn. I’ll also be posting my whereabouts and other various NBN riffs via my Twitter page. Follow me at twitter.com/stsn, for those interested. If you are going to be at any one of these events I’d love to connect with you, so again, please do come up and say, “Hi.”

I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend. Hope to see you out there!

BTW-Feel free to leave your schedule, whether linked or typed out, in the comments section below…