Tim Leberecht
commentary Radiohead have little to lose and much to gain by offering the band's latest album for whatever punters want to pay. We want to find out how much you paid.
Now here's an innovation: "music on demand", in the truest sense of the meaning. Radiohead, the juggernauts of intelligentsia rock, announced that they will give away their new album In Rainbows as a download for whatever price consumers are willing to pay. The band is free to sell the new album directly from the band's official Web site because it is no longer tied to a record label. So far, the album is only available for pre-order, but it can be downloaded when released on October 10.
How much did you pay for Radiohead's new album In Rainbows?
It's not the first time that an artist or group has opted to charge nothing for an album -- Prince, for example, gave away his Planet Earth with the UK tabloid the Mail on Sunday -- but the move is significant: Radiohead is one of the biggest bands in the world, and the self-distribution model could inspire other artists. It is interesting from both a moral and economic perspective. For the former, the band obviously relies on the "invisible hand", that is the self-regulatory forces of the market, to determine a fair price at the intersection of supply and demand, production value and perceived value. Radiohead trust that their fans follow an intrinsic moral imperative, ignoring possible "they're millionaires anyway" concerns and paying an appropriate fee for what should be a superb artistic performance. Most people will probably just follow the pack, and it would actually be interesting if the Radiohead Web site showed in real-time the latest average price paid.
From an economic viewpoint, Radiohead's decision is far less radical than it may appear. First of all, the biggest chunk of revenue for them will continue to come from touring, merchandising, and copyright payments. Giving away the album for any amount won't really hurt them, even if no one pays a cent. But that won't be the case: the New Musical Express has conducted a poll among UK fans, and from those responses the band is making an average of £5 (AU$11.50) per album. There is some debate going on about the break-even: Salon claims it's US$1.50 (AU$1.70) per album.
In any case, it's a nimble PR move, creating a side story the media (and commentators like me) can pick up. Plus, it's smart marketing. Through the download offering, the band will build a pool of registered users as potential targets for future marketing campaigns.
And in case you're curious: I would have paid hundreds of dollars for Radiohead's landmark OK Computer album. For this new release, coming after a long period of (radio) silence, I think I'd pay, let's say, AU$25. And you?
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nicky
04/10/2007 04:46 PM
i don't know who radiohead are, but i will sure as hell listen to them now! for so-so artists (take them or leave them) i would pay max $3 for an album download. for my most loved artists, to have the music straight away and for it to NOT have any DRM, i would pay $20...but keep in mind, that's $20 going to the artist, not the fat-cats...i share music with friends but i also know that artists make their money from merchandise, and i spend big on merchandise at concerts and on official sites
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John
05/10/2007 01:13 PM
Good on them. I'm probably going to buy the box set because I'm a fan of the band, but I hope that they make the same if not more money using this sales technique. I think that if the record companies did this in conjunction with regular CD sales they would make even more money. I mean people who buy the CD would buy it anyway right? This opens up another potential market. Sure people will download it for free, they were going to anyway once the album is released onto newsgroups/torrent sites. Here's hoping it's a success.
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