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Radiohead’s grand experiment in ‘honesty box’ music sales may have gone a little flat after a report found that three in five people downloading the band’s latest album did not pay a cent for it. Of the 1.2 million people who have downloaded In Rainbows since it was released last month, 62 per cent did not pay anything, and 12 per cent accounted for more than 52 per cent of the revenue from sales. The average price paid was $6 (£2.90) globally, but this figure was propped up by the 12 per cent who were willing to pay between $8 to $12 (£3.90 to £5.80) - the approximate cost of downloading an album from a retail service like iTunes, the report, by comScore, concluded. American music-lovers were the most generous, paying on average $8.05 (£3.89). Outside the US, the average amount parted with was $4.64 (£2.24).

At the time, the band’s decision was viewed by some as a future direction for the industry, which has struggled to combat declining sales in the face of widespread illegal downloading. But labels and other industry representatives expressed disappointment in the wake of yesterday’s report, saying that while a band with an established fan base was able to take such risks, it was not an option for new bands, who still benefit from the support of labels. A source at one of the major labels said that allowing fans to pay what they wanted for music would never work, because people would always steal. “Radiohead tried to spin this is offering a service for fans, but it was nothing more than a marketing ploy to make themselves relevant again and prepare for their next release. While most critics and labels consider these numbers as a failure, I wouldn’t be that pesimistic: are you sure there would be over 1 million people willing to pay for the album in stores? There would be “free” mp3 rips anyway…

Source: Times, Cnet

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