I think this is huge news. Radiohead free of the EMI deal have decided to release there new album “In Rainbows” on their website via download(you may also order it.) The catch is that you (yes you) decide how much it costs. The price can be free. You can read about it at the Times article here. This model I first recall seeing from Magnatune a few years ago. I always wondered if a big act would adopt the model. I know there have been other artist of note release free music here and there but not quite like this. And it is not free. It is just up to the individual. In a business sense it could end up being smart considering the lousy cut artists get from itunes and conventional retail sales. I know they have enough money but pay something and show this kind of thing can work. Who the hell likes the way the music Industry is and has been?I think this is huge news. Radiohead free of the EMI deal have decided to release there new album “In Rainbows” on their website via download(you may also order it.) The catch is that you (yes you) decide how much it costs. The price can be free. You can read about it at the Times article here. This model I first recall seeing from Magnatune a few years ago. I always wondered if a big act would adopt the model. I know there have been other artist of note release free music here and there but not quite like this. And it is not free. It is just up to the individual. In a business sense it could end up being smart considering the lousy cut artists get from itunes and conventional retail sales. I know they have enough money but pay something and show this kind of thing can work. Who the hell likes the way the music Industry is and has been?
I love it. I haven’t bought any music in quite some time but I’m seriously contemplating buying this one for a few bucks, if only to help prove this type of thing actually works out for the artists.
This is GREAT news from Radiohead, and kudos to them as a major label act for stepping up and helping to try to come up with a solution for this conflict. I parrot the request for everyone to give them a bit of money, to help make this model work. I only wish they had invested more work in the back end system…where you purchase the music, it’s confusing, and you have to covert currency. Great blog by the way!
The site is confusing that is to bad and might turn people off. Band website generally are hard to use. They hard to hard to be cool and different. I just hope they have enough servers ready to go this has got a lot of buzz.