I found this article very interesting...what would you do and how would economics impact your decision? For the sake of this exercise, lets assume you like Radiohead.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1666973,00.html?cnn=yes
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11 comments:
Wow I thought this was really intersting, and I believe this is really the first band in history that will give it's album out completely for free. the fact that we live in an era where it is so amazingly simple to just download the sings u like made this inevitable though.
As a consumer, I would ahve to say that given the opportunity to recieve the new album at any price I want (including for free), I would most certainly buy it for free, and I think that is how must of the consumers would act as well. Of course, this is a devastating blow for labels if soem of their most succesful bands suddenly decide they dont need them anymore. However, I do believe that less known artists will still continue to depend on labels for exposure and publicity, so I doubt that record companies will be going bankrupt anytime soon.
It could also be argued that by giving away their album, Radiohead would be making absolutely no profit at all. But as was stated in the article, Prince did soemthign similar and then made a fortune through concert tickets. If you are more readily exposed to a band's music (a band that u like) then you are more likely to spend more money to go see them live.
Finally, as said before, this is an era where we can just download the songs we want, and we don't even have to pay for them if you consider all the programs you can get where you download music free of charge (well, illegally...) So I suppose it was only a matter of time before artists started realizing that they might as well promote their music that way.
Anyways, a very interesting turn of events for the music industry.
I totally agree with Luisa..this is a subtle way of promoting their concert..most people do not buy original albums anyway, so giving it away for free would be a smart move to publisize their band and songs. it is amazing that radiohead could come out with such an interesting idea which i'm sure will still bring them profits, probably form the concert.
Radiohead is revolutionary once again. In theory, their plan is brilliant-- or so I think. If its true that record labels take away up to 60% of the profits, and there are several band members, their individual profit is relatively small. However, if they achieve that 30%, they break even. If Radiohead receives less than 30%, they'll probably make up the costs in 1) media & publicity because of this decision 2) concerts.
Yet I wonder how this will change the music industry. Will smaller indie bands follow suit? It would be much, much easier for them to release albums. Demand would increase...and supply, thanks to the internet, is basically unlimited. Bands could make up the revenue in concerts, and maybe, achieve a normal profit.
Most people already download songs for free fomr the internet and do not pay for the albums. i think when the ipod is to blame for this since we used to need cds for diskman and car cd players. now the ipod allows u to have all ur songs and they make producs such as the iframe which lets u listen to your music from ur ipod...so now we dont need cd players...and also they just came out with the iframe for cars that also includes a radio...so when you dont need cds...why buy them? Radiohead made a smart move since we all love music and if you truly are a fan when they come in town for a concert you will pay to go see them...they will not make as much of cd sales like before, but eventually i think noone will buy cds...if this is a way for artist to not get ripped off by their fans its a great idea...
For those who are familiar with Radio head, you will not find this decision by Thom yorke and the band a weird one for him to make.
Radiohead never wanted to be a mainstream band, even expressing happiness when they were not required to play in the grammies.
I think they are artists that don't really care about the money, or being in the system, something that's apparent since the release of OK Computer.
This is not a marketing strategy, just Radiohead being Radiohead
I love how Radiohead isn't following the norm. After 7 Cd's, I'm sure they don't really need the money, those they have the capability to test something like this out. What Radiohead is doing is a test for all artists and recording companies. If they prove to be successful, the demand for recording companies will decrease and eventually they will go out of business. Other artists probably wouldn't "sell" their Cd's at "give what you want", but they could sell their music off of their own websites to maximize the profits. This will be interesting to see what other artists do.
My question, like Luisa's, is how much will people actually pay to get the CD free of charge? First of all, for individual songs, iTunes has set a norm of $0.99, so I don't think anyone would pay more than that. I think that there will be a mixed outcome for Radiohead. The hardcore fans will pay for the music, as well as anyone who feels guilty for getting the music for free legally (as opposed to illegally through Limewire, Kazaa, etc). On the other hand, the people that aren't big fans of Radiohead will probably take advantage of the free music.
I don't think other artists can give choice-prices like Radiohead is going to do. Eventually, no one would pay for any music which would be a big blow to the music industry. I think artists are realizing that the market for downloading music is growing, so I think Radiohead is setting an example for the revolution to come.
That is a very interesting marketing strategy right there! :)
Only time will be able to tell if it is successful or not...
and I think that only a band that KNOWS its got tons of fanatics out there will be able to start such a revolutionary movement cause...i mean it is very risky.
I guess as Luisa mentioned, the relatively unknown bands might benefit in concert tickets...because the more exposed you are to a band the more you might like it..but seriously, it's very risky and i think that only bands that are confident on their fans will take the initiative to do something like this. Cause it will be those fans that will make sure they don't go bankrupt.
Yeah i guess this is interesting but from what i figure it is a publicity stunt of sorts, even if its also just part of radioheads mindset. Think about it they would like nothing better then to cut the middleman out of their products and ship direct to their audience, so this is what they have done. Also another thing i noticed is its not like here have a free download whatever, you still need to sign up with their site, give your email, address, phone number ect. so they are getting info on their costumers which is useful. Also by having this they are getting everyone who wants the download to pass right by the actual disk box purchase area so i bet many who have come have decided hey id like to have a cd instead of just a free download. Still very interesting...although he very fact we are discussing this leads me further to believe its a publicity stunt...heck, it got us talking about it.
this is a very intyeresting marketing startegiy. itll be nice to see what the people taht buy it will end up doing. The die hard fans im sure will probably pay even more than what it was worth. While others will probably just get it for free. Eze in class had talked about how it might be just the way Radio Head is and there theory of discography. its gonna be interesting to see how much profit theyll make.
This is one of the best ways ive seen a band promote their album. As everybody has said, the diehard fans will pay for it, regardless of if they can get it for free. On the otherhand, casual radiohead fans, like me, who would balk at paying full price for the album, are more likely to get it; either at a discount price or for free. This means more people will hear radioheads new material, which will probably translate into increased concert ticket sales, which could equal, if not surpass the lost value of the cd´s.
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