Pay what you want

I'm admittedly a bit late with this post because it's almost a month ago that Radiohead first posted their new album In Rainbows on the web for (free) download. It is a great idea and I was convinced it would become a good example of how people are willing to pay for something they can get for free - as long as the price is reasonable and (in the case of music) the money goes straight to the artist. It would take the wind right out of the sails of the music industy's argument about losing money.

Perhaps it still will, but I was disappointed to discover today that only 38% of those that downloaded the album opted to pay anything for it. The average amount they paid was €6. That's a very realistic amount in my opinion, considering you don't get a physical CD or a booklet or a case or buy it in a comfortably heated shop with sky-high rent in the centre of town. So I went straight to the site to download the album (without listening to it first) and offered to pay £5 (approxiamately €7,20). I have yet to listen to it, but the purchase was more of a statement than anything else.

So if you love music but loathe the immature way that the record companies are responding to the 'digital-music era' (namely with DRM and all its negative side-effects on our privacy and freedom to listen to music when and where we want to), then go forth and prove you are willing to pay for good music ON YOUR TERMS.