The downside of “free”

Earlier this month, I was in Hamburg facilitating a workshop and jumped on a stand-up comedy show while in town.

The gig was at Indra Musikclub, which, fun fact, was where the Beatles held a 48-show residency when they moved to Hamburg in 1960. (I perform on the same stages as the Beatles, NBD)

After the show, I complimented the showrunner, Shahin, on the sold-out crowd.

He told me the show had actually struggled to draw an audience — until he made one change: He started charging admission.

When the show was free, people assumed it must not be very good. Once he introduced a ticket price, attendance increased.

Charging sent a signal: This is worth something.

I'm sure marketers and pricing strategists constantly wrestle with this concept of free.

On one hand, people love “free” (free cheese samples at the farmers market are a weekly highlight for me).

On the other hand, free can sometimes diminish perceived value.

What’s your take on “free”? When does it help, and when does it hurt?

Indra Musikclub, Hamburg, Germany