There’s a bit of a civil war brewing in our blogger family. In a piece rhetorically entitled, “Am I A Jerk For Downloading The New Radiohead Album For Free?” Jossip editor Rebecca Aronauer writes: “I wasn’t an economics major, but when someone offers me the choice of paying for something or getting it for free, I usually choose free.”
In a blistering editorial of his own, Mollygood editor Cord Jefferson confirms Aronauer’s fears:
Yes, you are a jerk for downloading the new Radiohead album for free… The reason you are a jerk is because the business model Radiohead created is innovative, smart and important, and you should support that, no matter how little you can give.
We think they’re both jerks who should burn us a copy. That way get the album for free without our pesky conscience getting in the way.
Matt
I’m with Cord on this one. There’s obviously going to be some sort of new business model for the music industry: technology has seen to that. But it has to be a group effot on the part of producers and consumers; if the consumer side gets all stoopidlike and decides to go for Free instead of going through the trouble of putting a personal value on the music (it must have some value to Rebecca, or she wouldn’t have downloaded it at all. Now is the ongoing value of that music worth the same as a grande latte? More? Less? If more, how much more? Ten bucks? Songs forever vs. admission to “Transformers”? But what the hell, she probably doesn’t send money to public radio either.) then Bad Things will happen: either it works and we enter an interesting new world of markets setting the price for goods, or there won’t be commercially-available music anymore, or what there is will be sponsored by Burger King and we’ll get product placement in the middle of the songs, or Fox will own all the music and suddenly all you’ll be able to buy will be muzzakky drivvel about how great America is, or something. Radiohead’s trying an experiment, Rebecca — play along in good faith and see where it takes us.
Jon
I agree with Rebecca. The Radiohead idea is only meant to garner publicity and to up their “cool” factor. It’s sort of a pseudo hippie free love kind of thing and it’s also pretty smug. I won’t download the album because Radiohead sucks, but if someone I liked were to do it I’d totally download it for free. In the end it’s not a very intelligent concept and when all is said and done they’ll lose money on the deal.
Nick
I agree with Cord on this one. Radiohead is one of the most popular, innovative and critically acclaimed bands in the world today, it’s easy to consider them the best. They could have gotten more promotion and distribution through EMI who offered them a $60 million dollar contract to resign and instead turned it down for creative control of their music and it’s release. I have to say even if I wasn’t a Radiohead fan, that’s just plain ballsy and they’re challenging the status quo by doing it. It’s refreshing to see and after apparently it sold 1.2 Million copies with an average price of 4 pounds or $8 US dollars, I’d say it worked out quite well.
schnaussmaus
Jon – I’m confused. How is offering the download for whatever price you want to pay smug? How do you know their intention is to garner publicity? Maybe the publicity is just a by-product of their innovative idea?
Michael
Seeing as your career is based on an independent, non-corporate
(I imagine), internet-based foundation, I cannot understand how
you wouldn’t want to support such a forward-thinking move
that Radiohead has made. Why do you feel so very entitled that you are above paying for a product? Do you like getting paid for your work?