Radiohead's Pay-What-You-Can Plan
British rock band Radiohead will release its new album online next Wednesday and fans will be able to pay as little or as much as they want for the tracks. "It's up to you," reads a message on the Web page where fans can pre-order the group's seventh album.
The Grammy-winning crooners' "In Rainbows" will be available as a digital download with no set price. The album will be available only from the band and at radiohead.com, its official site, the AP reported.
"This is all anybody is talking about in the music industry today," said Bertis Downs, the longtime manager of R.E.M. "This is the sort of model that people have been talking about doing, but this is the first time an act of this stature has stepped up and done it. . . . They were a band that could go off the grid, and they did it."
Kelly Curtis, who represents Seattle-based Pearl Jam, told the AP he was still trying to process the boldness of Radiohead's leap: "My head is spinning, honestly. It's very cool and very inspiring, really."
Even if everyone who downloads the tracks pays nothing, Radiohead still hopes to make some money. The group's site will also sell a deluxe edition of the album with versions in three formats (CD, vinyl and download) along with eight bonus songs and a hardcover book for about $82.
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