Well, it seems like Clark has overestimated human behavior again! Several weeks ago he told you that the British band Radiohead made its new album
available for download at a pay-what-you-want price point. Clark guessed that people would pay the standard download price of $10 because they appreciated the gesture so much. It turns out that 6 out of 10 paid absolutely nothing and took the music for free. Maybe people are so conditioned to steal music on the Internet that the idea of paying has become very alien. Of those who did pay, people in the United States forked over an average of $8, while people elsewhere shelled out the equivalent of $4.50. Keep in mind that Radiohead still made money on this new business arrangement because they released the music without the help of a record label. So they earned the full amount of what people paidminus any costs they had to absorb for setting up digital deliveryinstead of just earning royalties that might amount to a few pennies per record. But Clark is still stunned by the results and feels that he must be naïve. On a related note, a music and culture magazine called
Paste is now offering
subscriptions for as little as $1. Subscribers are once again being encouraged to pay what they want, but with the caveat that it has to be at least a buck. How much do you think people will pay for a subscription?