In Rainbows
I'm sure this is old news to you but Radiohead is releasing their next album In Rainbows through their website as a download. Not only is it a download but music fans can pick their own price for the album. It can be free. It could be $25. If you love them maybe you'll drop $100 on it. What's it worth to you? the downloads are out October 10. The actual CD ships in December if you decide you want that.
This idea of users picking their own price isn't new. Jonah Matranga, an artist whom I have tremendous respect for, has been doing it for ages. His music isn't usually free but he gives you the option of a sliding scale. I've also thought about doing it with some of the music I've released. I know, as a fan, I value some albums more than others... I've paid more for others too - including more for Jonah's work.
This idea of making the music free or super cheap is a little strange coming at it from the perspective of a business. Like most businesses I look at the numbers before I release an album. How many copies do we need to sell to break even? How many promo copies do we need? Ads? Maybe. If music fans pick a price for the art/product we can throw all of the markerting classes out. We'll have no way of truly seeing if the release is viable (economically). Sure, with downloads you can exclude the packaging costs. Distro still requires bandwidth, a nominal charge. All digital can work in those cases with national/international acts. Radiohead is established and they can pack a stadium and sell tens of thousands of dollars in merch a night. Prince can, and has, done it too. They don't need CD sales to survive. Independent emerging artists typically need the CDs to sell while on the road. They are not getting big guarantees from clubs. They want to play, sell a few disks to fill the van with gas and make it to the next city. If there is money left over they will eat. They can't usually do it as a digital release.
So why not take this pricing concept to the next level? Again, it's not new, but what if shows were either sliding scale or free? I bet more people would go. I bet more people would spend a little on merch. With more people coming out, the venue could sell more - beer, soda, popcorn, whatever - and we know most clubs are making the money on concessions anyway. Indie bands could move some more merch benefiting them and their labels. If I started doing regular free or sliding scale shows would you spend more on band swag to support the bands? Or would you just catch a free show?
I'd love to hear your feedback.
This idea of users picking their own price isn't new. Jonah Matranga, an artist whom I have tremendous respect for, has been doing it for ages. His music isn't usually free but he gives you the option of a sliding scale. I've also thought about doing it with some of the music I've released. I know, as a fan, I value some albums more than others... I've paid more for others too - including more for Jonah's work.
This idea of making the music free or super cheap is a little strange coming at it from the perspective of a business. Like most businesses I look at the numbers before I release an album. How many copies do we need to sell to break even? How many promo copies do we need? Ads? Maybe. If music fans pick a price for the art/product we can throw all of the markerting classes out. We'll have no way of truly seeing if the release is viable (economically). Sure, with downloads you can exclude the packaging costs. Distro still requires bandwidth, a nominal charge. All digital can work in those cases with national/international acts. Radiohead is established and they can pack a stadium and sell tens of thousands of dollars in merch a night. Prince can, and has, done it too. They don't need CD sales to survive. Independent emerging artists typically need the CDs to sell while on the road. They are not getting big guarantees from clubs. They want to play, sell a few disks to fill the van with gas and make it to the next city. If there is money left over they will eat. They can't usually do it as a digital release.
So why not take this pricing concept to the next level? Again, it's not new, but what if shows were either sliding scale or free? I bet more people would go. I bet more people would spend a little on merch. With more people coming out, the venue could sell more - beer, soda, popcorn, whatever - and we know most clubs are making the money on concessions anyway. Indie bands could move some more merch benefiting them and their labels. If I started doing regular free or sliding scale shows would you spend more on band swag to support the bands? Or would you just catch a free show?
I'd love to hear your feedback.
Labels: Aux Radiohead Jonah Matranga free concert In Rainbows
posted by Ulf at
2:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home