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Radiohead announce new album, leave price up to fans

Radiohead has an innovative new approach to music distribution that the band is employing for its new album, In Rainbows. The album is initially only available on the band’s website in two forms, digital download or discbox set (which consists of the album on CD and 2 x 12 inch heavyweight vinyl records; a second enhanced CD that contains more new songs and digital photographs and artwork; lyrics booklets; hardback book and slipcase). When you purchase the discbox set, it includes a digital download of the album as well. The discbox set sells for about $80, but the kicker is that when you buy just the digital download, the price is left up to the consumer.

By limiting the sources of distribution and putting the moral decision of paying for music squarely in the consumers hands, Radiohead may have found a creative way to hedge against illegal downloading by making it irrelevant. The idea is that the true fans will pay for music that they are emotionally invested in and/or have respect for. By keeping the fans best interest in mind, Radiohead has given consumers a reason to respect them, even if they are not die hard fans.

If this new distribution model is successful we may see variations of it developing throughout the music industry.

by Alex

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1 COMMENT

Alex on October 1, 2007 2:22 pm
Apparently, the album will also eventually be available at the store in tradition CD form. Pitchfork did a good job of summing up all the methods of distribution:

So, let’s sort this whole mess out, shall we? You will eventually have three ways to pick up the seventh Radiohead LP, the Nigel Godrich-produced In Rainbows. It all depends how much you want to pay, which goodies you’d like, and how soon you want the tunes. Observe:

1. As a DRM-free mp3 download, beginning October 10 (and available for preorder now), via www.inrainbows.com (interestingly enough, last week’s RickRoll, www.radioheadlp7.com, now directs here as well). This version contains the 10 tracks that comprise In Rainbows, and you can pay whatever the hell you want for it. This is basically the band leaking the album and asking you for a donation to access it.

2. As part of a deluxe “discbox”, available for preorder now and shipping in December. In addition to the 10-track In Rainbows on CD, you also get the release on LP and as a digital download, plus an enhanced bonus CD packed with eight more tracks, photos, and artwork (and an LP of the bonus tracks), plus art and lyrics booklets and some nifty looking packaging. This thing costs £40.00/$81.00.

3. As a traditional CD, available in early 2008. This will presumably cost as much as traditional CDs tend to cost.

What Radiohead’s doing here is actually pretty cool. Rather than preface their new album’s release with the usual three months of press ballyhoo, only to have it leak at some random time before it comes out, they’ve kept it completely under wraps, then essentially gone and leaked it themselves. What’s more, they’ve turned this into a moral question of sorts, by giving us the freedom to pay actual money for what amounts to an album leak.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/46028-radiohead-album-coming-out-as-regular-cd-too