So, it’s been a month since Radiohead released their new album, In Rainbows, based on a pricing model where punters decide how much they are ready to pay for it. There was lots of speculation as to what this means for the music industry, but we now have some hard and fast figures as to what to expect from the general public. But before you rush off, set up a website, buy some email marketing software and try to sell your records online, have a look how Radiohead got on.
ComScore have released a report that shows what has happened in this first month. Here are some salient points:
There were 1.2 million distinct visitors hitting the site and the breakdown of downloaders is as follows:
Here’s the breakdown of the amounts paid:
I found that quite interesting. The majority of people aren’t ready to pay anything for their music, but there are also others who are happy to contribute. The bottom line is that there’s a substantial segment after free goods, and this is enormous if someone can find a way to tap into it.
It’s worth pointing out the skew in the figures above. Radiohead is an established band with a huge fan base, riding on the bow of a PR wave through doing something novel and exciting. How much traction would a new/unknown band get if they tried this now?
I’m old fashioned…
I bought the radiohead album in the store.
It is very, very interesting I am not sure what it means yet..
Bought it in the store? Quite something given it’s not out yet..
This post made Jo’s Top 5 this week.
@Slim, I didn’t buy it instore .. I bought it online