Radiohead lets buyers pick price for album download

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 02 October 2007 02:18

Business IT - Technology

People buying Radiohead's forthcoming In Rainbows album face an unusual dilemma: how much should they pay?

In the midst of squabbles between major music labels and Apple's iTunes Store, Radiohead is allowing listeners to set their own price for downloading In Rainbows, due next week in digital form.

No indication is given of the file format that will be used, or if any DRM measures are attached once the album has been downloaded.

The physical album 'discbox' - containing the regular CD, two 12in vinyl discs, an enhanced CD, artwork and lyrics booklets packaged in a hardback book and slipcase, plus a digital download - is available for pre-order at £40. Physical shipping is scheduled to begin on December 3.

While some punters are likely to pay the minimum 1p plus card charges for the download just because they can, it would be interesting to see what value buyers put on music when they have a free hand. Whether figures are ever revealed is another story.