In order to create a better overview of the area, I have assembled this list of the 37 best links on freemium. As new interesting links show up, the list will be updated. Freemium Definitions and Descriptions
- The Wikipedia entry on freemium
- A great explanation from “The Business Model Database”
- The definition from VC Fred Wilson, who was one of the first to use the word.
- Freemium in relation to other kinds of free. From the the long tail blog.
Books (and other long texts)
- The wealth of networks, how Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom.
by Yochai Benkler. I especially like Chapter 2 Some Basic Economics of Information Production and Innovation
Benkler explains the principles behind open source software as well as how some of these principles are applicable more generally.
This report was commissioned by the Dutch government. It is a very long (128 pages), but very thorough research report analyzing pretty much everything having to do with file sharing in Netherlands.
Blog posts/Articles/E-Books
The Internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every character, every action, and every thought we make while we ride upon it.
- The economics of giving it away, Wall street journal
- The emerging case for open business methods.
- Seth Godin: What is viral marketing?
- The Grand Unified Theory on the Economics of Free. A great overview of posts from the blog techdirt, covering the area around freemium.
- New Music Strategies: Why give music away for free.
Videos These are some of the best videos describing the area around freemium. As more great videos get produced and posted on the internet, I will link to them here
- Chris Anderson gives a 3 minute intro to his new book free
- Yochi Benkler has been called “the leading intellectual of the information age”. In this video he talks about the copyrights battles in cultural production as well as the possible business model around open.
- Joichi Ito, Creative Commons CEO
- Talk about Creative Commons and how it has been used in business.
- Futurist Gerd Leonard, Free, Freemium and Feels Like Free
- Trent Reznor – Case study
- Michael Masnick from Techdirt gives a great overview of the business model behind the album Ghost I-IV by Nine Inch Nails
- Publisher and internet wise man
Chris O’reilly, talks about open publishing Audio
A radio interview on BBC radio four with Chris Anderson about free and freemium Ideology of open
- Creative Commons, the organization behind the CC license
- P2P foundation, studies the impact of peer to peer technology and thought on society.
Freemium examples within IT
- Skype
A great description of the business model behind Skype
- Flickr:
Business model overview will come later
Examples of freemium outside IT
They have created a lot of attention around the business model for their album ghost I-IV. The album was available for a free download and revenue was generated through the sale of various complementary products.
An American musician who let his music freely downloadable. During a two week period when they removed the free downloads, the sales on iTunes actually dropped.
A college text book company that lets you download a pdf version of a book for free. They then make money form selling physical versions, audiobooks and study aids. Blogs to follow These are some of the best blogs that deal with the economy of free and freemium.
- The long tail
Chris Anderson’s blog that started out being about… the long tail. But the last year the subject has been the economy of free. 2 great posts: A business model for open source hardware A visualization of the four kinds of free
- Techdirt
News, commentary and discussions about technology and the issues around technology. They have a great coverage of the economy of free. The post on free can be found by following the tag “free” which has been done in this link. Techdirt blog posts about free
- Media futurist
Gerd Leonhard talks about the future of media. He is great a making concise descriptions of trends that are happening right now. 2 great posts Compensation not control Open is king, especially now
- New music strategies
A great look on strategies for the business of music in a digital age. The blog gets extra interesting because of the lively debate in the comments. 2 great posts Why give music away for free ? Has music been devalued ?
- Andrew Chen
Has thorough blog posts about setting up freemium business models within the internet business. 2 best posts How to create a profitable freemium (IT is implicit) Free to freemium: 5 lessons learned from yousendit.com
Related posts:
