I downloaded Radiohead’s In Rainbows the day it came out. I didn’t pay anything for it then, instead deciding that I’d listen to it first and pay what I felt it was worth later. After the initial listen, I was thoroughly underwhelmed and happy that I hadn’t paid anything.
Now that I’ve given it a second/third/fourth shot (my roommate’s recommendation and the WSJ’s glowing review convinced me to try again), the album’s growing on me. It’s pretty good music to work to.
I haven’t quite decided how much to pay … but I was thinking that it’d be cool if I could buy a t-shirt from Radiohead that said (in a plain font) “I didn’t pay for In Rainbows but I bought this tshirt to support Radiohead”. I’d pay $20 for that.
I could elaborate about why I’d rather pay for a physical good/service (tshirt, concert) rather than a near-zero-cost-to-reproduce digital good … and I could talk more about why paying for digital goods is obviously necessary … and why in some cases I don’t mind and in some I do … and how such a tshirt might not fit with Radiohead’s true aim … and why some fans might not like it … but whatever. I think the shirt would be fun.
Just wanted to add that I got a pair of decent headphones today and listening to In Rainbows on them is like listening to a totally new, even better album. Wow. I need to go back through everything I’ve listened to, ever…
posted by zwyatt at 8:35 am on November 2nd, 2007