What would you pay?

Ok, this post is probably past its prime, but I wrote it a while back and figured I might as well get it up here…

What would you pay for the new cd release from one of your favorite artists? What if it was an artist you casually liked? Well, that is what Radiohead is asking their fans… The new release In Rainbows from the band is available for download, and the price is…

Whatever you want to pay! Seems crazy right? I have no idea how this may work out for the band, but personally, I would probably pay the going rate for new music ($10 bucks an album?) for the new songs. The only issue I have with this plan (and downloading the music) is that I prefer to buy hard copies (cds) rather than digital downloads, so I’m not sure what to do yet. The cd will also ship as a special edition with a vinyl version and lots of extras in December, but that has a set price of $40 pounds ($81.58 US Dollars!) and that seems a bit steep. What should I do?

Going back to the original idea, do you think Radiohead’s payment plan might work? There have been articles both supporting and bashing this idea, and a few bands have even said they may follow Radiohead’s example (Nine Inch Nails being one of them). In my opinion, a lot of established fans will probably pay something (although recent reports on this are conflicted), and more casual fans may try it out (for a minimal amount or free) and be sucked into the world of Radiohead. These people might not have bought the cd otherwise, and now they will pay for other cds, merchandise and concert tickets, which is where artists are making more profits anyways. It seems crazy, but the more I think about it, the more I think it might work…