New Radiohead

[Owen]

If anyone's interested in this from a consumer behaviour point of view, there are some stats out now that the album's been around for a month. Here are some facts:

 

-- In the first month the website had 1.2 million visitors most of whom downloaded the album.

-- 38 percent of global downloaders of the album willingly paid to do so, with the remaining 62 percent choosing to pay nothing.

-- The percent downloading for free in the U.S. (60 percent) was marginally lower than in the rest of the world (64 percent).

-- U.S. paying customer is willing to pay far more ($8.05 per download) than his international counterpart ($4.64).

 

There's more on the original report by comScore: http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1883

Here's where I blogged about it: http://www.u-g-h.com/index.php/2007/11/06/...s-one-month-on/

 

 

 

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[VinnieK]

Kid-A I didn't have much time for though, I'll grant you that much. (It's like, Aphex Twin, except not as good and with too much of Thom sounding all miserable as usual.)

 

Surely more like a much more rubbish Red Snapper, or a slightly more rubbish Boards of Canada. Lots of people flagged up Aphex Twin and Autechre when Kid A was released, but I always thought it sounded more like the kind of interior design show, template IDM that's influenced by the former two bands, rather than something someone had actually thought about.

 

Either way, good show to the 2/3rds of people who judged their new album wasn't worth paying anything for.

[Foxtrotlima]

Owen, do you have any idea how those stats correlate to if Radiohead had released and distributed their album through more conventional means?

 

I got an email after I had bought the album asking how much I had paid, and a few weeks later got a response that the average was £3.88.

 

I guess I am just wondering if Radiohead made more doing it this way than if they had followed the normal release route.

[*daniel*]

Owen, do you have any idea how those stats correlate to if Radiohead had released and distributed their album through more conventional means?

 

I got an email after I had bought the album asking how much I had paid, and a few weeks later got a response that the average was £3.88.

 

I guess I am just wondering if Radiohead made more doing it this way than if they had followed the normal release route.

 

I would guess so, I know that Chris Floods album, which he hopes to release in HMV's accross the UK, he is only going to get something like 50p-£1 per sale. The majority goes to the shop outlet, probably about £7, then like £1 for the label, then like £1 for the cost of artwork and general production. Well the figures are something like that. And then they will have to split it within the band, so about 25p per member.

 

Likewise, I guess about 50p or something will go towards bandwidth (as a rough guess), then the band will have to pay for the studio, producer, whoever mixed and mastered it, the site design etc. So I presume it works out slightly better to release it digitally, although you have to bear in mind that radiohead are a very well known band and their album must of been very anticipated, so it probably wouldn't work out for a lesser known band.

[Plectrum Infusion]

Well, what a suprise this album has turned out to be. On my 3rd listening now, and it is growing each time. "Nude" and "Reckoner" are really standing out for me.

 

"Nude" is good, but "Reckoner" is bloody fantastic.

 

The rockier guitar based tracks are superb as well.

 

I'm on my third listen-through this evening now, and same as yourself Ms F, it's growing on me, and that's growing from thinking it was pretty bloody good first time around.

 

I dunno if they'll ever be as good as The Bends and/or OK Computer again, but they actually seem to be working back up towards such levels of brilliance, which is quite an achievement for a band that's well and truly "made it" and doesn't really have to try so hard any more.

[Owen]

Owen, do you have any idea how those stats correlate to if Radiohead had released and distributed their album through more conventional means?

 

I got an email after I had bought the album asking how much I had paid, and a few weeks later got a response that the average was £3.88.

 

I guess I am just wondering if Radiohead made more doing it this way than if they had followed the normal release route.

 

I remember reading somewhere that they get around $3 per album sold, but I can't find the source for that. The thing to bear in mind though that Radiohead is a pretty mainstream band and this initiative was backed with tons of PR as it was such a "groundbreaking idea that will drive all those evil recording moguls out of business". I'm pretty sure Radiohead did well out of it, but not sure how it would translate to new bands trying to make a name for themselves.

 

I suppose there is space for a mixed model between this sort of thing and the free "podsafe" music scene. I used to listen to Adam Curry's podcast and he had a project going (http://music.podshow.com/) to allow musicians to share music which podcasters could use without paying any royalties for. I sure someone's come up with a hybrid model that might gain some traction. Who knows, an artist/band might choose to sell their album exclusively on iTunes, based on a sliding payment scale (?). I'm just not in touch with that industry anymore though ...

 

Anyone out there know a bit more about it?

 

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