Radiohead - In Rainbows : What Are You Paying?

I like how that article frames it as a pretty significant failure.

A lot of people paid $0, but I know a lot of us are going to go out and get the record the day it hits the stores.

you're right. from what i gather, most people who paid nothing did so because they're just going to buy the physical release anyway when it comes out (myself included)

Me included too. Of course I had to hear this thing once it was available, but I will of course purchase the actual CD. Hopefully more than 160 kbs too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7082627.stm

If that article is right, and my calculations are right (and they may well not be), then Radiohead made £1,322,400 out of the downloads.

"Radiohead have been bankrolled by their former label for the last 15 years," said Michael Laskow, chief executive of Taxi, a company that helps bands get signed to record labels.

Like the label got nothing out of the deal.

Ah, as in "Taxi for These Animal Men" ?

Taxi, a company that helps bands get signed to record labels

You have get signed up by a company to help you get signed up by a label these days?

yeah, check out Glitterbest and NEMS for other bands who have benefited from this approach.

Nearly half of all U.K. downloaders pay for new Radiohead album

To sum up: Britishers were more likely to pay than Americans, but the Americans who did pay paid more.

“I am surprised by the number of freeloaders,” said Fred Wilson, managing partner of Union Square Ventures and well-known music aficionado. “The stories to date about the In Rainbows ‘pick your price’ download offer have been much more optimistic. I paid $5 (£2.45) and had no reluctance whatsoever to take out my card and pay. It’s a fantastic record, the best thing they've done in years. But, this shows pretty conclusively that the majority of music consumers feel that digital recorded music should be free and is not worth paying for. That's a large group that can't be ignored and its time to come up with new business models to serve the freeloader market.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7103071.stm

Yorke paid nothing for own album

No-one was given copies of the album for fear of it being leaked
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has admitted he was among the thousands of people who paid nothing to download the band's latest album.
Last month the group released In Rainbows online and invited fans to set their own price.

Speaking to BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq, Yorke said: "There wasn't any point. I just move some money from one pocket to the other."

According to one survey, three in five people paid nothing at all for it.

The project, which in October one of the band's managers Bryce Edge admitted was a "risk", was shrouded in secrecy.

"We had to literally tell no-one. I didn't tell my wife we were going to release it like this," said guitarist Ed O'Brien.

Yorke added that no-one was allowed to have copies of the master recording in case it was leaked beforehand.

"Every record that we've done for ages has been leaked. And why not leak the bloody thing yourself?" he said.

Every record that we've done for ages has been leaked. And why not leak the bloody thing yourself?

Internet monitoring company Comscore found the average price paid for the album was $6 (£2.90).

American fans were the most generous, paying on average $8.05 (£3.85), compared with the $4.64 (£2.22) paid by those outside the US.

Of those who were willing to pay, the largest percentage (17%) paid less than $4 (£1.90).

However 12% were willing to pay between $8-$12, (£3.80 - £5.71).

During the first 29 days of October, 1.2 million people worldwide visited the In Rainbows site, but it is not clear how many downloads were made.

Radiohead recently announced the CD and vinyl versions of the album will be released in shops on 31 December.

Yorke said: "There wasn't any point. I just move some money from one pocket to the other."

"like Tommy Cooper. Just like that!"