Radiohead Puts Their Two Cents In

A revolution is upon us! That recording industry revolution is led by Radiohead.

Here’s the deal:

Buy their album “In Rainbow” for any price you choose. You can pre-order the download on the band’s website and access it starting October 10.

Buying the album is like visiting The Met. The museum requests a twenty dollar “suggested donation.” Radiohead asks for only two cents.

The New York Times reports:

“There is no maximum price, nor any other guidance, setting up what may be the biggest experiment in digital-era music-industry pricing to date. What are people willing to pay for music? How many will pay full price? How will the average price compare to what a typical record company would likely have charged? Will people pirate it anyway?”

The Times asks some key questions. I’ve taken it upon myself to answer them.

What are people willing to pay for music?
Thanks to Radiohead, whatever we want. I’d like to type $.02 into the order field and say “OK, Computer.” But I can’t. Sure, I’m broke. And yes, I live in the country’s most exorbitant city. I just can’t bring myself to rip off a band that’s nice enough to give me their CD for free. I’m not saying that I’ll pay full price. But I do think a few bucks are in order. I’m sure there are others who agree.

How many will pay full price?
Not enough. There are diehards who would take a bullet for Mr. Yorke. Of course these guys will shell out 18 bucks. But there are others who will leave the band high and dry and I’m not about to call the karma police. In their defense, I probably wouldn’t have bought the CD if it wasn’t so cheap. And I’m willing to bet there are others like me. In fact, Radiohead might sell more albums than they would have via traditional methods.

How will the average price compare to what a typical record company would likely have charged?
This is where my analysis gets fuzzy. I want to say those willing to pay full price will just buy the album: jacket, jewel case, et al. Again, I’ll leave that to the diehards. Let’s say the record label charges $18. My guess is the download price will fall below $4. There’s no mathematical reasoning behind that number. The price just sounds right.

Will people pirate it anyway?
Of course. Hail to the thief. But I think there will be fewer thieves than before. At this point, I don’t think Radiohead cares. Enforcing anti-piracy is like spinning plates and the band’s already made their millions, remember?

I might add that I hope other musicians with a conscience will join the insurgency. The NYT said it best:

“This is what happens when you sell twenty dollar CDs with one good track and sue your customers for [file-sharing]. This is what happens when music is a second-class citizen only interested in the bottom line.”