Friday 22 August 2008

Earn as you go


Orange has come up with a really nice social enterprise idea - do a spot of volunteer work and you get free tickets to exclusive gigs. The initiative is being run by Orange RockCorps, an off-shoot the brand describes as a "pro-social music production company". The idea behind RockCorps is to encourage consumers to give back to their community - 4 hours volunteer work in return for sought-after entertainment, such as Busta Rhymes at the Albert Hall next month.

What's most interesting I think, is this idea of having to earn something, rather than pay for it. This seems so relevant to the music industry and being a fan - why can't your loyalty and passion for an artist or band be valued as much as your cold hard cash or at least warrant special privileges? (I know this happens to some degree but surely not enough). 

It's new business models and ways of engaging consumers like this that will help the music industry sort itself out. The initiative has been running successfully in the US and apparently 35% of those who volunteer develop a habit for it. 

Image courtesy of Google images

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