Dexter Freebish on the Internet
Click here to enter Dexter Freebish's Offical Web Site so you can:
Read about what they've been working on!
View their "Leaving Town" Video!
Purchase their official logo t-shirts and their CD!
Post messages to other fans or even the band members!
Dexter Freebish is a group of five talented young men who named their band after a Texas roller coaster that killed the band’s former drummer’s uncle, yet gave the band members wonderful lasting memories when they were children. Just as the roller coaster does, this band’s music can take you on a great thrill ride with the ups and downs. These artists are interested in making art when writing the lyrics to their rock songs. Their debut album, “A Life of Saturdays,” sold millions of copies; however, the band was smart enough to advertise to the youthful Internet savvy by creating a web site, www.dexterfreebish.com.
The official Dexter Freebish web site not only allows visitors to read about the band’s progress on their new CD, post on a forum that other fans or band members can respond to, but also allows visitors to buy their debut CD and Dexter Freebish clothing items. A popular feature on the site is the multimedia page where visitors can view the video for and listen to “Leaving Town,” which is their most popular song. According to TheOnlineMusicSource.com, “After starting to record their label debut, the band’s “Leaving Town” won Song of the Year in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, sponsored by EMI Music Publishing, Maxell and Yamaha. The track was chosen from over 27,000 entries and voted on by more than 60 celebrities, including Elton John, Wyclef Jean, Foo Fighters, Brooks and Dunn, Barenaked Ladies, Paula Cole and George Clinton, among others” (http://www.theonlinemusicsource.com/dexterfreebishbandbio.html). Once the award was announced, many radio stations and music video channels were playing their song constantly. The band allowed their fans to download this song for free on the official web site so that they could get a taste for their music. Later that year, the band released their first CD and sold millions of copies. Also available on the site is a forum in which visitors can post and read comments made by other visitors or band members. This allows for communication between fans and the band.
Not only does the band utilize their official web site, but they also give interviews to online music sources such as TheOnlineMusicSource.com. For these sites, the band members give full interviews and biographies so that their fans can learn more about them. This is a great way to reach out to their fans or potential fans.
There are seven key technological advantages of the Internet for commerce, as discussed in Chapter 1 of E-Commerce: Business. Technology. Society by Laudon and Traver. Dexter Freebish seems to utilize all seven, which include ubiquity, global reach, universal standards, richness, interactivity, information density, and personalization/customization (E-Commerce, p 9). Customers are allowed to shop for their products on the Internet as well as in stores, so this indicates they are utilizing ubiquity. Their products are available across the globe because of their marketplace on the Internet, so this shows they are utilizing the concept of global reach. The official web site delivers audio, video, and text messaging, thus indicating the utilization of richness. The forum works through interaction with the user, so interactivity is being utilized. By selling their products through the web site, they are able to sell at a smaller cost than if they were selling their items in a traditional market, so the band is utilizing information density. And lastly, it is indicated that the band is utilizing personalization/customization through their forum board. The forum board allows personalized messages to be delivered to large groups at one time, or to single individuals. This fits the definition of personalization/customization as stated in E-Commerce by Laudon and Traver.
I believe that the band was very wise in choosing to utilize the seven key technological advantages of the Internet for commerce. As all bands do, this band hopes to be able to stay in the market for a long period of time. By utilizing all of the resources it can, Dexter Freebish has a chance at fulfilling this wish.
Sources:
Dexter Freebish. “Dexter Freebish: studio update.” Last accessed Tuesday, September 09, 2003. http://www.dexterfreebish.com.
Kychesu. “TheOnlineMusicSource.com.” Last accessed Tuesday, September 09, 2003.http://www.theonlinemusicsource.com/dexterfreebish.html.
Laudon, Kenneth, and Traver, Carol. E-Commerce: Business. Technology. Society. 2nd edition. Addison Wesley, 2002.
*Pictures taken from <http://dexter-freebish.tripod.com/>.