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radiohead's new approach

"Has the music industry killed its golden goose?

The band Radiohead has taken the old "pay whatever you can afford" plea and turned it into a business model. At least, that's what the band is hoping to achieve with its move to let fans name their own price when digitally downloading the band's new album.

Thumbing their nose at record companies, the message "It's up to you" appears when clicking on a question mark next to the price of a download."

I think this is very interesting and could start changing things in the recording industry IF radiohead is sucessful. concidering they already have a established fan base cutting out the record label may actually prove to be good idea if they can get on average more than $1 for each "copy" sold and since at least at this point there is no cost of pressing or having inserts printed that would also reduce the cost to the band. that also could hurt the band though because people like to have something in their hands and many people do like looking at cd inserts. I've read that in a few weeks radiohead will also release a cd copy of the recordings.

comments?

The success of the approach is no longer an "if." While Radiohead has declined to offer any specific figures, industry estimates are between 6 and 10 million dollars collected (based on download numbers and reported average amount paid).

My kids own piles of digital music, and don't feel any need to hold a CD in their hands.

I like what they are doing. It puts you in control and allows you to pay the band what you think their music is worth.

On a side note:

I haven't bought a CD since 1999 and I don't plan on buying one ever again. I have every song I could ever want on my I POD. Why would I want to have a bunch of CDs taking up space?

I download to find specific tunes that I want/need, or to discover tunes from an artist that I don't want to spend $15 to discover they suck.

I buy CD's as a conscience cleaner for paying my due to an artist I like or have been convinced via downloads that they are deserved.

I like packaging.

Oliver's Army wrote:I download to find specific tunes that I want/need, or to discover tunes from an artist that I don't want to spend $15 to discover they suck.

I buy CD's as a conscience cleaner for paying my due to an artist I like or have been convinced via downloads that they are deserved.

I like packages.

Fixed

I have an adverse reaction to watching discs spin...

sevesd93 wrote:I like what they are doing. It puts you in control and allows you to pay the band what you think their music is worth.

On a side note:

I haven't bought a CD since 1999 and I don't plan on buying one ever again. I have every song I could ever want on my I POD. Why would I want to have a bunch of CDs taking up space?

not only does it put the fans in control but also the musicians themselves, and everyone knows we like to be in control of our creations and hell if you think the band is only worth 1 dollar they aren't out anything, that's what they would have made with a label

on the side note, very good point

Okay, Radiohead is earning big time dollars directly from the album sales. Usually the band sees very little of that money, and has to make money by touring. It's good to see Radiohead making that dough directly.

A new model for the music industry? Maybe, maybe not. Remember, it is because of the record industry that we've even heard of Radiohead. They can now afford to nix the hand that sparsely fed them, but made them a household name. A local band using the same marketing technique is not goint to get the same results.

Perhaps there needs to be a new type of business model that generates the needed hype and promotion for new and established bands without sucking them dry like the record companies do. Free market capitalism says if the need is there, it will happen.

too true, something like this wouldn't work for a local band. either way though with radiohead being so sucessful already it goes to show that the record industry does need to start thinking about making some major changes in business practices and in the rights they give bands. honestly though I don't see any major changes in the recording industry and how they do business in the near future. but I could be wrong

Perhaps there needs to be a new type of business model that generates the needed hype and promotion for new and established bands without sucking them dry like the record companies do. Free market capitalism says if the need is there, it will happen.

Myspace my friend

myspace is nice but usually is only used to it's fullest AFTER you have the hype and a name, look up most local bands, how many people do they have, 300, 400 maybe(not including other bands) and the majority of them are from withing 100 miles of the band's home town. now look at bands with a contract or who started out with a contract "national acts" they easily have 10 times that. the internet is the basis for a new business model but myspace is only a small piece of that puzzle and it looks like what radiohead is doing is also a piece for those bands who already have the hype and their name built up

That model is the real reason the record companies shut down Napster and other similar sites. Too many bands figured out they could make a living without them and their confiscatory business model.

I always use Ani DiFranco as an example, but she makes more total money from sales of her CDs than much bigger names. Why? She owns her record label, she owns her studio, she does everything herself, and she busts her ass on the business side. She makes in the neighborhood of $7 profit per CD - the biggest name artists make about $1 in royalties and that's after they pay back the $6Million advance. DIY and tell "the man" to get bent.

Now, you don't even have to print up CDs and all that. Design a label for both a CD and an insert and let your fans print it themselves if they want a CD of the music. Put it all on-line for download and let them pick either song by song or the entire "CD" if they want. Let them download their own "best of" from all your stuff you've got on-line. Put the CD label and the insert in a PDF. Let them pick from 4 different versions of the cover art... now, I'm giving away all my ideas...

Most importantly, shameless self-promotion is a good thing. Be a complete whore about it.

bassjones wrote:Be a complete whore about it.

Words to live by...

very well put as always brad

i feel guilty sometimes downloading music, but i will on occasion buy cd's. there is something very aesthetic about ripping the krinkly paper from a new cd, from an artist you f*cking love, and throwing that mo fo into a cd player. and, it's nice to know that you are somehow providing them with a little bit of cash to continue making better music. i listen to a lot of wierd crap and sometimes its impossible to find it to download. in that case, if you want to listen to it, you have to buy it.