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actsnoblemartin
11-06-2007, 06:32 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071106/ap_en_mu/radiohead_download_study

Could you imagine, if doctors said, patient, decide how much youre gonna pay me

or insurance company said, doctors charge us as much as you think is right.

Most fans paid $0 for Radiohead album

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer
Tue Nov 6, 2:52 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - Radiohead let its fans decide how much to pay for a digital copy of the band's latest release, "In Rainbows," and more than half of those who downloaded the album chose to pay nothing, according to a study by a consumer research firm.
Some 62 percent of the people who downloaded "In Rainbows" in a four-week period last month opted not to pay the British alt-rockers a cent. But the remaining 38 percent voluntarily paid an average of $6, according to the study by comScore Inc.

Radiohead broke with its past practice of releasing its music in CD format and through a major record label when it released its seventh studio album online itself. The biggest wrinkle was the band's decision to let fans pay as much or as little as they wanted to download a copy.

The results of the study were drawn from data gathered from a few hundred people who are part of comScore's database of 2 million computer users worldwide. The firm, which has permission to monitor the computer users' online behavior, did not provide a margin of error for the study's results.

Between Oct. 1 and Oct. 29, about 1.2 million people visited the Web site the band set up for fans to download the album, comScore said Monday. The research firm did not say how many people in its study actually bought the album.

Among U.S. residents, about 40 percent who downloaded the album paid to do so. Their average payment was $8.05, the firm said.

Some 36 percent of the fans outside the U.S. who downloaded the album opted to pay; on average, those fans paid $4.64, according to the study.

Radiohead's U.S.-based publicist said Tuesday the band had no comment on the study.

The online release sent shock waves through the recording industry, with some hailing it as a shrewd move at a time of declining CD sales industrywide and others writing it off as a publicity stunt that amounted to the band giving away its music.

The band, which also offered fans the option of buying a lavish box set for about $82, plans to release the album in CD format some time next year.

___

retiredman
11-06-2007, 07:56 PM
and what does this have to do with the concept of government ownership and control of the means of production?:lame2:

actsnoblemartin
11-06-2007, 08:20 PM
it was more of a joke, but it was basically saying, the government screws everything up.

:laugh2:
and what does this have to do with the concept of government ownership and control of the means of production?:lame2:

retiredman
11-06-2007, 08:31 PM
the government directed radiohead to try this novel new marketing strategy?

Hobbit
11-06-2007, 08:32 PM
and what does this have to do with the concept of government ownership and control of the means of production?:lame2:

I was wondering the same thing. This is more of a free market illustration of what occurs with (virtually) unlimited supply when the controlling monopoly sets no price (and a copyright is a monopoly). If it was a CD print where you pay only the charge of making the CD plus whatever you felt like, the fact that the number of CDs would be finite would eventually lead to an equilibrium price in the resale market, but with an unlimited and uncontrolled supply, equilibrium price is, well, zero.

actsnoblemartin
11-06-2007, 08:34 PM
I was pointing out, if the government of the private sector tried out radio heads stupid approach, it wouldnt work.

It sounded like socialism, a kind of elitist, we know better approach

It was in the humor section for god sakes :)

:dance:


the government directed radiohead to try this novel new marketing strategy?

Hobbit
11-06-2007, 08:38 PM
I was pointing out, if the government of the private sector tried out radio heads stupid approach, it wouldnt work.

It sounded like socialism, a kind of elitist, we know better approach

It was in the humor section for god sakes :)

:dance:

I know that, and it is kinda funny. I just couldn't draw the line between the title and the body.

Oh, and the socialism approach would be more like seizing Radiohead's album, distributing it to everyone, then give them a pittance for their trouble, since that's all they actually need.

Socialism is taking from each according to his ability and giving to each according to his need.

Edit: And capitalism is taking from each according to what you pay for and giving to each according to what he's worth.

typomaniac
11-06-2007, 10:35 PM
And capitalism is taking from each according to what you pay for and giving to each according to what he's worth.

Capitalism is taking from each as much as you can get and giving to each as little as you can get away with.