Do we expect all our music for nothing?


It seems I was in the minority in paying for my download of Radiohead's latest album, In Rainbows, writes Andy Clough.

According to internet monitoring company Comscore, nearly two thirds of downloaders paid nothing for the album (including Ms Editor Newsome, I believe!).

The average price paid for the album was around £2.60, although our American cousins were more generous, paying on average around $8 (£3.85), compared with $4.64 (£2.22) paid by those outside the US.

My £5 payment is now looking rather generous, and as my colleagues in the office will testify, it's not often I'm known for splashing the cash – especially down the pub on a Friday night!

Still, my spies tell me Radiohead won't exactly be short of cash, as apparently they've already taken around £4m in sales of the download and boxset of the album, so they won't have to ditch the rock 'n roll lifestyle just yet.

I will be intrigued to see if other bands follow Radiohead's example and allow us to download their music for free. Next time, I may be less generous.

Technorati Tags: download, MP3

Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.