Learning Marketing from Iron Maiden | What Happens to Copyright?

Iron Maiden's Freemium

This is a story about the marketing of a band called Iron Maiden.

They are a British heavy metal band and one of the most successful heavy metal bands in the world.
Formed in London in 1975, they are a band that could be called the driving force behind the heavy metal boom.
They are still active today.
I also own several of their albums and am quite a fan of the band.

I'd like to introduce their marketing because it was interesting.
In an era where music is downloaded or available on streaming services, music as a physical package, like CDs, has stopped selling.
The music industry, where CD sales were the core of profits, took a hit.
It would be one thing if people paid for downloads, but it started being illegally downloaded all over the world.

Iron Maiden was no exception.
Their songs were being illegally downloaded in massive numbers all over the world.
It was no longer possible to crack down on it.
It became a situation that was out of control.

Iron Maiden investigated which regions in the world had the most illegal downloads.
They discovered that their fan base and traffic on social media were concentrated in Latin America, such as Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.
They thought about it here.
Many of the people doing the illegal downloading are, in a sense, our fans.
That's what they thought.
If that's the case, instead of cracking down, let's let them do as they please and listen as they please.
If we do that, our music will spread even further, and our fans will increase.
And so, they overlooked the illegal downloads.

But that wouldn't make their business sustainable.
So the action they took was very interesting.
Surprisingly, they went on tour in South America, the region with the most illegal downloads.

This was a huge success!

Because the band that could previously only be heard online was coming, the tickets sold out.
Merchandise also sold overwhelmingly well.
They generated more revenue than any concert they had done before.
The live show in São Paulo, Brazil, generated $2.58 million in revenue.

In the one year from June 2011, they gained 3.1 million new fans on social media, and by 2013, when the South American tour ended, they had gained over 5 million new fans.

Spreading by going free

Providing products or services for free and having a certain percentage of those people buy products.
The "freemium" method.
Furthermore, in the case of freemium, sharing is more likely to occur.
As a result, fans increase.
It is truly a textbook success of marketing in the social media era.

Music is something that can be easily copied.
Because it's a digital file to begin with.
Anyone can copy it very easily.
If you try to charge for every single one, it takes too much effort and doesn't pay off.
They distributed music for free and sold live shows that absolutely cannot be copied, and merchandise that can only be obtained at live shows.

It's a brilliant way to turn a headwind into an ally.
In an era where social media has a major impact on consumption, discard your old ways of thinking and try deviating significantly.
If you do that, you might notice a big opportunity.

Perhaps we are entering an era where rights-based businesses like copyright and patents will disappear.
I hope you start drawing a picture.

"Instead of cracking down on illegal downloads, treat them as fans and make the South American tour a huge success"—this bold and vivid reversal by Iron Maiden is the ultimate case study in "turning a headwind into an ally."

Just as Miles Davis turned his weaknesses into his own unique sound and a genius F1 driver turned wind resistance into downforce, they accepted that replicable digital music is "free" and generated massive revenue through "real live experiences" and "merchandise" that absolutely cannot be copied. This freemium strategy in the social media era is amazing, isn't it?

Q&A for turning headwinds into allies and generating overwhelming revenue through unique "experiences"

Q1: How did Iron Maiden turn the critical situation of their songs being illegally downloaded all over the world into an opportunity?

A: They stopped desperately trying to crack down on (eliminate) illegal downloads and conveniently reinterpreted it as "people who download this much must be our passionate fans." Then, by identifying Latin America as the region with the highest number of downloads through data analysis and pinpointing it for a live tour, they achieved explosive sales of tickets and limited-edition merchandise (merchandising), resulting in their highest revenue ever.

Q2: What was the 'essential value' they realized amidst the storm of illegal downloads that shook the music industry?

A: It is the truth that while 'digitized music (objects)' can be easily replicated infinitely, 'live performances (experiences)' and 'merchandise that can only be bought there' can never be replicated. By stopping the effort of trying to collect money by clinging to things that are easily copied, and by treating music as free promotion (a dissemination tool), they created millions of new fans around the world all at once.

Q3: Why is the 'freemium' approach mentioned in the blog so effective in the modern era of social media?

A: Because providing high-quality value for free makes it easy for explosive sharing (dissemination) to occur on social media. First, let many people know you exist and enjoy your work. A certain percentage of those people will then be happy to pay for deeper experiences, tangible services, or exclusive products, and as a result, you can build a massive fan community without spending a single cent on advertising.

Q4: How do you think 'rights-based businesses' such as copyright and patents will evolve in future business?

A: The old business style of hiding information and protecting oneself by binding things tightly with rights is expected to disappear (become obsolete) more and more in the future. From now on, it will be an era where only those who can design their business around 'a unique identity and real, warm experiences that won't falter even if imitated or copied' will seize great opportunities.

Q5: How can I incorporate Iron Maiden's 'bold deviation' into my own business?

A: It is to boldly provide (open up) know-how and information that you have been stingily hoarding—saying 'this is paid' or 'this is confidential'—for free on social media and other platforms. By giving first without holding back, you create overwhelming 'trust, empathy, and goodwill' with your customers. On top of that, you add value to seminars where they can meet you directly or 'special experiences' that can only be enjoyed at your shop. That reversal of thinking will bring a new breakthrough to your business.

I want you to toss aside your defensive stance and start drawing up a new scenario with an aggressive, playful spirit, thinking, 'Let's create a system where many people can enjoy our products for free first!'

6/30 (Tue) 20:00 Online Ex-Ma Seminar 'Marketing to Survive the AI Era'

We have entered an era where AI does marketing.
Market research, advertising, and copywriting.
It can do it all. And it's fast.

Marketing done by AI is correct.
But it's not interesting.
The job of humans is to make it interesting.

It is time to fundamentally rewrite the philosophy of marketing.

We will also leave an archive, so even if you cannot participate in real-time, you can watch it as many times as you like for one month.
I would be happy if you participated.

Please see the details below.
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6/30 (Tue) 20:00 Online Ex-Ma Seminar 'Marketing to Survive the AI Era'