Pay what you want

I received an email today from Equal Vision Records stating This Time Next Year’s album was available on ‘pay what you want’ terms. In the label’s own words, “Equal Vision Records & This Time Next Year have introduced a new system to give music to anyone who is willing to listen. Fans can “choose your own price” – from $0 to $1,000,000 it is it up to the fan to decide what to pay for the music. Fans also have options in what types of files to download – mp3, AAC, FLAC, or Apple Lossless – for those who are concerned about the quality, unlike other music download options. Additionally, the file previews aren’t limited to :30 like iTunes or Amazon. Listeners can hear the full album in a number of places, including the download website.”

Now I appreciate this method isn’t new – Hell, under Punktastic Recordings I released the A Man Down CD two years ago as a physical pay what you want release – but it’s a major step forward for labels and bands to embrace new technologies. Radiohead – admittedly a massive band with an enormous fanbase – did very well out of releasing their last album in the same way. It will be very interesting to see what kind of impact this has on both the band and label and whether it will encourage EVR to do this kind of thing again. I think it’s the way forward – I’ve paid $2.50 for it which I appreciate isn’t all that much, but the likelihood is I would have downloaded it for free (or streamed it on Spotify) and if other people do the same as me label/band will scoop revenue they otherwise would not have.

Here’s hoping more people support this release and embrace the idea. And here’s hoping other labels follow suit.

To choose your own price & download: http://www.thistimenextyear.bandcamp.com Or to just listen to the full album:

AOL – http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/11
MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/thistimenextyear
PureVolume – http://www.purevolume.com/thistimenextyear