Free can make money, too
Posted January 25 2008 12:20 pm by zero
Tags: business model, free
In today’s society, it seems almost inconceivable that something free can also make money in sales. However, here’s a story that defies that logic - which is exactly what the RIAA and MPAA wants us to believe.
Paul Coelho is the best selling author of The Alchemist amongst other books. He also firmly believes in giving away his work for free, going to the extent of creating what he calls an unofficial website for fans called Pirate Coelho, where fans download various translations of The Alchemist. Coelho proved, through his own experience, that once he made the book available for free, it actually sold more copies. In a talk he gave, he mentions that the Russian translation had sold 1,000 copies before it was made available for free and 100,000 copies in the two years afterwards. Just goes to show, the free business model can work.
[via Techdirt]