Radiohead has announced it plans to let its fans decide how much they want to pay for their new album, due out October 10 — from nothing for a digital download (in exchange for registration information, of course) to a shitload of cash for a fancy boxed set featuring all kinds of pointless rubbish. Between these two extremes, fans are being asked to pay what they think is fair for a copy of the CD, which will be shipped to them, as I understand it. Check out the following story for more information, then tell us:
a) Is this clever stick-it-to-the-man-in-the-21st-century-ism?
b) Does this kind of shit totally fuck things up for bands who haven’t experienced multi-platinum success yet, and thus don’t have the luxury of being “revolutionaries”?
c) Are Radiohead simply recognizing the fact that musicians are going to have to go back to making a living like the glorified minstrels they really are, after an 80-year run of technology- and marketing/distribution-fueled good luck?
d) How much, if anything, would you pay for Radiohead’s new album?
e) How much, if anything, would you pay for (insert name of your fave band here)’s new album, if offered in the same fashion?
I look forward to your responses–especially yours, Berlyant (you over-rationalizing, thieving, music-murdering turd).
HVB
a) No, I’m sure The Man is getting His cut.
b) Not at all. You ain’t got nothing when you’ve got nothing to lose.
c) Perhaps. I think it’s a great idea, and I see no reason why little bands couldn’t try it on a smaller scale. This really taps into my thoughts on auctioning off the masters for a 1-time fee.
d) I’d pay $2.
e) I’d pay market price for an album by a favorite band that I was really curious to hear.
I would download it for free (though not from them unless I could get it that way earlier, mainly because I’m not particularly interested in giving them any registration info, if I can help it). If I like it enough (which given that I’ve liked everything by them since The Bends, is a strong possibility but then again, their cryptic messages can get really old), then I would probably buy it on CD (so yeah I’m old-fashioned like that despite my downloading), though not the box set. I was, however, lucky enough, to get the “deluxe version” (really just the same album with nicer packaging) of their last album as a birthday gift.
I should clarify my earlier position, though. Though I’ve downloaded tons of things that are otherwise available both from blogs and other places, most of the stuff I tend to dl tends to be out-of-print or otherwise hard-to-find or expensive imports. Plus I wouldn’t ever upload an album that’s in-print to a file-sharing network. I know that’s a bit of a double-standard since I’ve downloaded them, but I’m just being honest. I’m only taking what’s already out there and I didn’t create the current climate. Plus, all of us have taken copyrighted material at some point, so if that’s how you really feel, then please kindly shove it. If you’re just kidding, as I hope you are, then you can still shove it after you finish stroking and combing through Billy Gibbons’ beard. 🙂
a) Denying record labels an unearned cut of your recording income is definitely clever.
b) No. Other bands can do this on a smaller scale.
c) Yes, and if the record sucks, they’ll have a hard time selling the next one. (Ok, it’s not like their audience abandoned them after Kid A, but there are limits.)
d) For a download, which I definitely prefer to a box with lots of clutter, I’d say $8.
e) I’m saying $8, but once the infrastructure is in place to sell downloads independently (i.e., there has to be some investment in servers and payments systems) it should be less, maybe $5-6.
A) I think it’s more knowing what their fan base wants than sticking it to anyone. Radiohead seems to know what their fans want more than most bands.
B) I don’t think it hurts other bands. It may even provide smaller bands a chance at this type of distribution and a new revenue stream for Radiohead. If Radiohead owns the infrastructure and can work out the bugs with their stuff, helping a smaller band could be as simple as them uploading a few files on their own and Radiohead just getting a check.
C) They seem like clever guys. If things are gonna change, I think I’d be okay with them driving the change more than some label.
D and E) I don’t like Radiohead, so they’ll get nothing from me. My oldest kid loves them, so I’ll be getting him the boxed deluxe set with extra chrome doodads, stickers, patches and codes to download horrid remixes. It will be a swell xmas gift, and in the grand scheme of xmas gifts, it will be pretty inexpensive.
Now it looks like I dont have to give Radiohead anything at all. The kid already ordered the deluxe edition, and it cost eighty bucks. It sounds like two cd’s, vinyl versions also, posters, art books (not booklets, real books), stickers and a download code. Maybe a little more, but shipping from England is included. That’s got to be an expensive package, so that’s kind of nice.
Apparently there will be stuff going to the stores after the first of the year. It’s certainly different, but I still hate ordering stuff. I’d rather go to the store and get it.