The recent decision by Radiohead to release their new album with a user decided cost ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/10/03/bmcolumn103.xml ) has made me wonder about art and its perceived value in general. The media has gone crazy on this story, musing on whether this will effect the future of the music industry in general.
Will most people pay for this album and reward the artist, or will they happily consume it as a freebie? Would you pay for something you didn’t have to? Is it just plain stupidity to pay for something you can get for free or is it an ethical question?
I think this issue ties in quite nicely with the issue of “security” that comes up on RB occasionally – the idea that consumers can simply right click and save a copy of your art. Early indications from the Radiohead camp say that “most” people are paying for the album. Most! That means that given the choice of freebie or payment, many are choosing to pay for art. I wonder how much this means for us, as artists. Does being fair and allowing the responsibility to rest on the consumer instead of controlling it by restrictions and watermarks, actually make people act ethically!?
Why are most people paying? Is Radiohead’s attitude on this point the reason people are choosing to pay? By standing their ground ethically, does this roll over onto the consumer? A kind of contagious morality?
I think this makes people think about the value of what they are paying for and receiving. There are always going to be some people who want everything for free and will right click and save your work or download the album for free. But were they ever going to be your buyer?
sjem, 9 months ago
I for one intend on paying for the album – something like $10 perhaps ?
What I’m not sure about is whether I want to pay out of guilt or out of respect for Radiohead and the way they are giving the music industry the ass; it’s probably both.
I also figure that $10 is quite possibly a good deal more than what Radiohead would ever get out of one album sale had they gone the normal middle man filled music industry path.
paul romanowski, 9 months ago
So tell us what do you get for free with out paying for it…?
And is it ethical?
Natalie Manuel, 9 months ago
Do you mean in this particular case Paul or?
Craig Shillington, 9 months ago
I will always pay for something I want from an artist I really admire. That is not to say for example, that I have never copied music from another source and listened to it, but I think sometimes freebies can actually work in the artists favour. If someone listens to an artists song and semi likes it, yeah, they have taken off the artist, but would they ever really have listened if they never got the chance to listen for free? And for people like me that really enjoy something a lot … well, I would then want to have the Original works purchased as the package that the artist released. There is nothing like owning the real thing. Original Hard copies for me are priceless.
Honestly, I have to hand it to Radiohead. As they will for sure gather more fans who are genuinely interested in their music, even if those new fans initially download this work without paying. It’s a sort of Pay it forward mentality in which most will reward the band for giving something first. Even if the band don’t really make much money from this release and the payment form, I have no doubt that this will rollback as sales on previous released works by them by people interested in the band that may never have really thought to have listened before.
Xavier Shay
,
9 months ago
I would not have normally bought this album.
Now I will buy it because I really like what they’re doing (what sjem said: “respect for Radiohead and the way they are giving the music industry the ass”).
The music industry has been heading in a dangerous direction, with suing grandmas and DRM. We need more major artists to buck the trend.
Respect the customer, the customer will respect you.
Disenchanted, 9 months ago
My personal experience with this only happened early this year. I was fortunate enough to make it to the Big Day Out in Melbourne and one of the main acts for the day was Muse. Now I had never heard of Muse until this day… never heard one of their songs but I saw every second person at that concert wearing one of their shirts etc.
I didn’t really know what to expect as I stood within a heaving crowd, jumping up and down and screaming at the top of their little lungs waiting for this band to walk onto the stage.
Right from the very first note… OMG! What a sound! What energy!
I was hooked right there and then… I went home and the next morning I downloaded one of thier albums to get more of a taste and I can honestly say that I listen to Muse now at least once a week if not more.
The thing is though, that instead of downloading more or their work, I was so inspired that I went to the local music store and ordered in all the Muse CD’s I could get… I know have the entire collection and I happily handed over the cash to get it.
In this internet age we live in, access to information has never been so good. In my opinon there is nothing wrong with the ‘try before you buy’ mentality… the problem lays in the people that take this attitude and use it for evil rather than the greater good, whatever the product.
Steven Lippis, 9 months ago
I think it’s a good idea, but, Radiohead are already millionaires how many times over? If they made an album and no one paid for it. It would have virtually no impact. For a smaller artist, if people don’t pay, they stay small, they keep working day jobs in maccas, and they never get anywhere.
Personally I prefer to buy my cds. I’ve got some stuff I got from friends, and other stuff i’ve downloaded from itunes because a) it’s cheaper, and b) I couldn’t get it anywhere else.
There’s plenty of artists out there cutting out the middle man, having songs downloadable from their personal website, myspace or mp3.com.au and other sites. It’s unusual for a big name to do it, probably because they’re signed up to record labels. Although I remember the Smashing Pumpkins putting an album online for free a while back.
Still, it’s an interesting idea. I agree, you’re not losing anything from people who were never going to pay in the first place, but there’s a mind set which says this isn’t theft, when that’s exactly what it is.
Denzil, 9 months ago
I love the notion of contagious morality, we can live in hope!
Natalie Manuel, 9 months ago
Yep Steven – I don’t think it’ll become a trend that quickly either. They ARE a huge band and they DO have very loyal fanbase so that means they can afford to lose out on sales.
However the amount of guilt tripping going on in the forums is quite interesting. People are feeling morally pressured into buying, and yet I suspect many of them would have downloaded a leak illegally! So it does seem like once you give people the responsibility for their own choices, many DO start to act and think differently.
Disenchanted – yep also a good point – it WILL get people curious after all. I wonder if we could apply the same thing with art here – I wonder how many people would not buy work from an artist with lots of “security” measures compared to one that freely allows reasonably sized quality photos to be viewed. Maybe it’s a confidence thing, or maybe it’s just reverse psychology?
Roseann, 9 months ago
I think it’s a great idea. What got me disenchanted with music is there was actually a time when bands put out albums (yea, I had those) and they would release up to four or five songs, as singles, off the album because there were at least that many good songs on it.
Then there came the point in time where only one or two songs were worth listening to. I don’t know if was pressure from the record companies to produce more faster or if it was a general “we can produce anything and they will buy it” attitude. But I was tired of shelling out $15 for one or two good songs. I have no objection to paying for music I like. Which is why I like to purchase from Itunes. I get what I want and nothing more and I am paying and not stealing from someone.
I do believe in Karma and that stealing from someone else will be bad for me in the long run. I 100% believe in try before you buy. Particularly with expesive items like software. I’ve shelled out a lot of money based on a demo only to find that the restricted features of the demo worked great but the full blown app did not. However, if it is something I plan to keep, use, listen to, watch or own in anyway, then I pony up the cash.
I hope this does well for Radiohead.