To Gate or Not to Gate...

To gate or not to gate, that is the question…

Consider this. The famous Las Vegas sign was commissioned in 1959 and designed by Betty Willis. As the story goes, she did not retain the licensing rights for her design. That means, it could be used at will by anyone.

Fast forward 60+ years later and this icon design has been printed on post cards, t-shirts, shot glasses, fridge magnets, key chains… all of which Willis never received a dime for.

In an interview, she was asked about this and she said, ‘had I licensed it, it may never have been used as often and never have become this iconic landmark.’

It really got me thinking about content distribution. If we gate something, it makes it more difficult to consume and share, thus lowering the number of people who will consume it.

However, if we give it away for free, it can reach an entire audience of people who may otherwise never discover it.