So, here at home we have a little cultural program to educate Gabriel: He receives R$20 a month to do whatever he wants, so he learns to deal with money AND he has the same amount as credit to spend in books (including graphic novels and we usually make exceptions and buy the book anyway if we think he made a good choice or he reaaaally wants that book).
I was thinking about extending the program and giving him R$20 (or U$10) in credit to buy music (mp3 for his mp3 player -- not an iPod). He likes rock, bands like Supertramp, Rolling Stones, Kaiser Chiefs, ACDC and recently has discovered Nirvana. It would be easy to just go around downloading mp3s for free and fuelling his player but I would love to teach him to, you know, GO LEGIT. So, what's the better way to manage it, giving the cap of 20 reais or 10 dollars a month? Gift cards in iTunes store? There is some kind of store with subscription service for X downloads a month within this range? How do I teach my curious tween about consuming music the same way I teach him about consuming (printed*) books?
Food for thought here: I learned about new music listening to radio and sharing mix tapes with my friends at school, and after MTV came to Brasil, seeing it too (it's a shame MTV no longer stands for Music television). Gabriel discovers new music seeing videoclips in Youtube, listening to online radios and exchanging mp3s via bluetooth on his cell phone with his friends at school.
Can you see it? The FORMAT changed but the way music spreads and reaches new listeners is still the same. MTV gave me REM, mix tapes brought me Tori Amos, radio brought me Nirvana. Youtube brought Kaiser Chiefs to Gabriel, games brought him Cardigans (Gran Turismo, My Favorite Game) and his exchange at school teaches ME about new stuff.
*ebook stores, I'm looking at YOU. There's no way I'll buy a book I can't share with my kid and he can't share with his friends or take it to school to show them how cool it is so, guess what, you may end with MORE readers. His school has a book club and so far I know that every book he took home is an interesting book to buy later for him. So, if I can't do with an ebook what I can do with a printed book I PAID for I won't give you my money for it and hope you go screw yourselves. It's just stupid that you think this won't make you sell more, you don't even trust the quality of the product you're selling. Well, I may be stupid too for my entire life I lent books to friends that liked them so much I never got them back and I just though it was cool that they enjoyed it so much and bought them again. We even have a saying here i Brasil, that "a lent book is a given book" (livro emprestado é livro dado). Boy, you suck at forming new readers/consumers.
So, feedback please about the better way to give Gabriel the R$20 a month credit to buy music? email me at lanika_@hotmail.com.
