How Much Did You Pay for the New Radiohead Album?
I’m working on a review of Radiohead’s In Rainbows (which you can download for any price you think is fair from the band’s website), but it’s going to take some time. It’s incredibly difficult for me to “hear” new Radiohead albums. Often, I plain don’t like them the first time through, but I warm up on subsequent listens, until I can’t believe I ever didn’t love Amnesiac. I don’t know of any other band I would give so many extra chances to, but, then again, I don’t know many other bands who’s albums would be worth the time. One notable exception is Thom Yorke’s solo album, which I instantly fell in love with.
But moving along: I paid the equivalent of $5.05 (you have to pay in pounds, like some dirty limey) for the new Radiohead album, which I believe to be the fairest, most enlightened price a boy can pay for mp3’s direct from the artists. This experiment is really the smartest thing I think Radiohead could do right now, and once a few more big names explore similar distribution schemes, I think this strategy, more than file-sharing, will be the final nail in the RIAA’s coffin.
Of course, there’s already iTunes (which I’ll talk about in a second), and small bands have already been selling their wares along similar lines. Warp Records has been operating a direct download service, Bleep, for years. Stephen King even experimented with a similar idea years ago, but his experiment was so ill-conceived and bass-ackwards that it’s not really worth mentioning, except as an aside. But a big splash, a platinum-selling album from a pop band most people have heard of, that’s what’ll demonstrate the viability of a new distribution model.
Why $5.05? In a certain sense, it’s just a number that I felt comfortable with. If the extra nickel is confusing you, ignore it. 5 bucks is about half of what a digital album costs on iTunes, and Apple has to negotiate their prices with the major labels (who would prefer that an album cost more). If my money is going straight to the artist, with most (but certainly not all) of the various music industry middle men swept out of the picture, I figure a little less than half is fair.
Why not pay full (iTunes-type) price? Mark, you make hundreds of dollars a month! Surely you can afford 11 bucks for a BRAND NEW Radiohead album. Well, yes. But I’m pretty sure that defeats the purpose of the experiment. I don’t think Radiohead expect you to pay 11 bucks (although they wouldn’t kick your 11 bucks out of bed). The cleverness of the experiment is that Radiohead want to find out how much their music (not all music, not any music, their music) is worth to the people who buy it, and the rise of file-sharing has already shown that the number is not as high as the music industry believes. Radiohead didn’t even suggest a price, which to me is a telling omission. They want to find something out.
Will Radiohead stick with this pay-as-you-like scheme forever? I think that depends on a lot, but Pitchfork is reporting that the album sold 1.2 million copies in the first 24 hours, and I’m willing to bet a significant number of people paid about what I did. Maybe they’ll use the data to set a standard price (fingers crossed for $5.05). In any event, I’m sure the band will have some numbers for us in the coming days, as they begin to see (I believe) that their fans are quite capable of supporting them in the manner which they’ve become accustomed, without the continued assistance (or meddling) of a major label.
Sun., Oct. 14, 2007
Reader Comments (2)
I remember when I first moved to Tallahassee, Hail to the Thief came out. I lost sleep over 2+2=5 and Myxomatosis, because those songs floored me. I was never a big fan of the band until Kid A, where they finally strayed away from the REM/U2 influence, but still keeping their own (and better) sense of songwriting in tow. I feel each album they've released since Kid A (i can't testify for Pablo Honey, Bends or OK Computer, since I've not listened to them much) improve one after the other. In Rainbows is no exception, even with the mega-gay title. As great as an album closer Videotape is, it's on an album called In Rainbows. Did they all agree on that one?
Radiohead: In Cut-offs
Radiohead: In Pride Parades
Radiohead: In Rainbows
Radiohead: In the Waiter