I'm going to share a little secret with the non-programmers who read this blog. Right now you are running an application or viewing a website that was written to while listening to Techno. It could have been hard house thump'n or soft warm trance, but rest assured the odds of a programmer writing code for software you are using now while listening to Techno is so high it's an absolute certainty.
Perhaps this is why Radiohead just made $10 Million dollars in one week off of their latest album In Rainbows. Oh, I should mention they made $10 Million dollars by giving their album away for free?
Simply go to the website for In Rainbows and at the checkout pay any amount you wish. There is an option to buy (about $80 US) a special box set that includes the album on CD and vinyl, a second CD with more new songs and digital artwork, printed lyrics and artwork, and a hardback slipcase to keep it all in.
Obviously Radiohead has a following and can rely on word of mouth to get people to the site, but it does demonstrate people will pay for something they want even if it's free. Why this is a "new" idea I don't know, NPR and PBS have worked this way for years. This is the first real example in the music world to try a donation model (it's not the very first, but the first well known group to release a new album for free - not "free with newspaper" or "free with coffee" etc). I think the best thing to come from this is somewhere a guy with a "crazy" idea for selling music won't be ignored much longer.
For the record, I ordered the box set... mostly to get the vinyl version... if I have to explain that...
...yes, I'm enjoying the new songs.
Posted By Mike On Saturday, October 20, 2007
Filed under music radiohead |
Comments (3)
Daryl
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Sunday, October 21, 2007
12:29:35 AM
I ordered this the day after it released (I heard demand was so great that the site tanked the day of release). It's a great album. You gonna hang this vinyl up next to your Thriller?
I wonder if they'll publish numbers about what people tended to pay for the download. I kicked in 10 pounds, about $14, which is more than I've paid for an album since iTunes came out.
Mike
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Sunday, October 21, 2007
4:23:40 AM
The popular estimate places them at averaging $8 US per download - if you consider most artists *may* make $1 off of a $18 CD that's huge.
I'm not so sure I would put it next to Thriller, maybe beside Toni Basil. Above Huey and The News "Sports" either way.
Gabriel.
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Monday, October 22, 2007
4:45:50 PM
Pretty cool to see some successful system-bucking. Radiohead, being one of the most successful bands around, can do this and do well, but the question remains as to whether the trend will stick.
Radiohead found itself in a unique position. They'd made it big and stayed that way through the entirety of their record deal. So... it's not really something I'd say we're going to see a lot of. At least, not in this decade.
Oh, and it has to be said that simply making this move was a huge PR win for them, as it made big news amongst the blog/music-news community. Free advertising ftw.
