mis-alignment: don’t mess with the deadheads
November 30, 2005 by Mary Wynne-Wynter
I've been recently inspired by makeover shows; now its rock bands. It started when I caught The Last Waltz on tv the other night. Surprising that a lifelong music fiend like me never saw the world's greatest rockumentary before (at least that I can remember...but that's another blog!). So I was in the right frame of mind for this NYT article ($): Deadheads Outraged Over Web Crackdown. It got me thinking about audience (customer) alignment; not just the value in getting it right, but the potential cost of getting it wrong.
The business behind the Grateful Dead determined that too much live show content was being downloaded and traded; so they made a move to stop it. The band wants to sell downloads of its live concerts through its own official Web site. The fans are p.o.'d:
Dissent has been building rapidly, however, as the band's fans - known as Deadheads - have discovered the recordings are, at least for the time being, not available. Already, fans have started an online petition, at www.petitiononline.com/gdm/petition.html, threatening to boycott the band's recordings and merchandise if the decision is not reversed. In particular, fans have expressed outrage that the shift covers not only the semiofficial "soundboard" recordings made by technicians at the band's performances, but also recordings made by audience members.
To the fans, the move signals a profound philosophical shift for a band that had been famous for encouraging fans to record and trade live-concert tapes. The band even cordoned off a special area at its shows, usually near the sound board, for "tapers" - a practice now followed by many younger jam bands.
This will be an interesting case to follow about the risks of alienating your fans (customers) who will perceive a 'sellout'. The files will continue to be traded, but the trading will go underground...along with legions of loyal fans, and their money. Did the Grateful Dead go too far? Could they have better communicated their needs? If their fans are disillusioned, will another band (competition) move in to fill the vacuum? How much power do these fans (customers) have?