Radiohead gives "pay what you want" option to fans.
The times, they are a changin'
Many readers of this blog will of course be aware that indie band Radiohead have offered their new album 'In Rainbows' on pay-what-you want terms for download.
Are they creating a new music industry business model?
As a one-time big-spending retail customer who is now buying from iTunes and direct from the musicians, I'm in favour of this new model. My "active" music collection is already in mp3 format and to be quite honest I find very few albums -- like Radiohead's "OK Computer"i, Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" -- for which I need high quality sound. So why do I need to pay retail for a product format that doesn't add any value?
Here's my next question -- do we need to have "albums" at all any more? Is the "mp3 and media on request" model going to get us to a small 1-4 high quality track release from artists? Even my favourite artists don't often fill the entire album with gold.
Many readers of this blog will of course be aware that indie band Radiohead have offered their new album 'In Rainbows' on pay-what-you want terms for download.
Are they creating a new music industry business model?
As a one-time big-spending retail customer who is now buying from iTunes and direct from the musicians, I'm in favour of this new model. My "active" music collection is already in mp3 format and to be quite honest I find very few albums -- like Radiohead's "OK Computer"i, Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" -- for which I need high quality sound. So why do I need to pay retail for a product format that doesn't add any value?
Here's my next question -- do we need to have "albums" at all any more? Is the "mp3 and media on request" model going to get us to a small 1-4 high quality track release from artists? Even my favourite artists don't often fill the entire album with gold.
Labels: music, technology
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