Would a 'pay-whatever-you-want' model work?

[ABOTadmin]

Here's a screenshot of Radiohead's In Rainbows album official site where you can order the album, either via online download or a CD. Interestingly, when you go to your shopping cart (after selecting download), you'll see that the amount payable is up to the user to fill in. You won't have that option for the Discbox (about $80) though, for obvious reasons.

I think a model like this would work because the value of an album is subjective, and while you may get less from someone who's not a fan, you'll definitely get the opposite from someone who is. And everyone in between, well, they'll probably end up paying slightly more or equal to the estimated price.

Also, what's with all the DRM issues plaguing other online stores, this would be a welcome change for customers. This would also contribute to raising the average 'price' per album.

Note also that the physical copy, the discbox, contains significantly more content. This includes a CD, two 12 inch heavyweight vinyl records, a second CD with more new songs and other digital content, and various artwork and lyric booklets. All encased in a hardback book and slipcase. So the two don't clash, and in the end, what they're really selling is the extra content.

This is reverse psychology at its best. Such genius.

What say you?

[drasticfantastic]

Of course it'll work, otherwise they won't do it. There is an indian restaurant near my place which has the same concept. And I find I often pay about 50% more than what the food is worth.

So yes, I believe it'll work.

[David Tan]

Well, the product could be easily pirated. Charging a fixed, high price for downloading the song would mean that they are focused on profits. But since it's up to the customer, then it will:-

1) Generate more sales = more customers = more people listening to the music = more exposure, and if songs are good = more fans = more concert tickets sold OR more media coverage, etc.

2) And in turn, drive more people to buy or download the songs and generate more profits. Also, there will be more sales for the CD/discbox.

For bands, it's more about long-term branding, high visibility and long-term profits than short-term profits.

[ABOTadmin]

The answer's Yes and No. The numbers are in. Downloads from torrents are surpassing even the legit downloads from Radiohead's site.

The good news is however that they've sold more albums than they did last time. And their success is reverberating through the music industry. Hopefully, more artists will jump on the free download bandwagon.

[Gajandra D]

Wow that is good to hear. Now we know that giving away an album as a pay what you want does work. This might just catch on to the other artists around the world. They can still cash in on concert tours and sponsorships. Hmm... I guess piracy will slowly fade away . What are they going to pirate next?

[Tephus]

Technically, they're pirating something that's already free. I guess you could say pirating will be eliminated because they're no longer stealing. Torrent sites will simply become additional legal channels of distribution.

[Gajandra D]

The time has come to do away with billboard top 100's. This is because sales of the album alone is no barometer of its success. Sites like rapidshare and bittorrent should publish their music downloads and this should be included in the way we rate the popularity of an artiste's album. They should release the top 100 downloads for music and other stuff. This way we have some kind real life statistic as to who is popular and who is not. They should eventually combine the downloads along with the actual sale figures to give an accurate reflection of who is NO.1. This would eventually benefit the artiste from the publicity and increase his net worth in the real world.

[GreedIsGood]

I think downloads cannot be the sole benchmark of a band's success, because if you look at Radiohead, many people are downloading the album through torrents and not doing the most important thing- paying the band.

So we have to take into account both revenue and downloads, which I predict, according to the Pareto Principle, 80% of all revenue will come from 20% of total downloads.

[Gajandra D]

Well i did not mean to do away with using sales as the indicator of success but do take into account the downloads as a popularity measurement. The artistes do lose out big time on revenue but what they lose on sales they can make more with concert tours and other shows they can do worldwide. Most entertainers are making a fortune doing this. Take for example Barbara Streisand where she makes about a millon flat for a single concert. A well planned world tour can net a good income that can sometimes surpass the album sales. You see artistes don't make very much from the sale of an album because the chunk of it goes to the label. So even if they do make good on the sales it will not be as much as the record labels.

[David Tan]

I wonder if it's an obscure band, would people bother to download the music? Why, they wouldn't even be searched in search engines nor placed in torrent sites.

If being pirated is the indicator of success, and popularity, would new bands benefit from distributing their music and letting it be pirated? With the goal of speeding up success and popularity. Provided that the music is good of course.

If you're a new unknown band and you feel that your music is good, would you distribute your music in torrent sites and give it away for free?

[Gajandra D]

In the music business or even in the movie making business there has to be an avenue besides all the major studios and recording labels. Don't you think that upstarts would like free publicity and the chance to get recognition from fans and new fans? Well if they allow this mode of free advertising in allowing people to downlod their music for free and let word of mouth be their sales force it might just work. The critics will have no choice but to take notice of them and sooner or later you become known around the world. If you have got enough action this way who knows where it could lead to. The current business model of selling prepackaged cd's and itunes downloads only allows the monopoly of the business to a few parties. Lets make this worldwide and see what happens then. As we all know there is a lot of bias in the industry because of the monopoly of the big guns so lets take away their control and see the biz florish in a new fangled way.