aeblog

progressive pricing

I discovered this new fangled record label called Magnatune that is tackling the whole digital age with a very creative approach.

- The acts that they sign are non-exclusive.
- They give the musicians half of whatever is sold (compared to single digit percentages for most major record labels).
- They promote Creative Commons licensing with no Digital Rights Management built into the music you purchase.
- They sell music only by the album, not the song and they let their customers listen to anything they want (in full) prior to purchasing.

So far this is already not your typical record label, BUT, are you ready for the big one? They let the customer choose the price! I'm not talking eBay or Priceline here. I'm talking as long as you pay at least the minimum amount ($5 per album), you are free to choose what you want to pay. The more you like the music, the more you pay? The more money you have the more you pay? The more you think the musician needs it, the more you pay? There are hundreds of reasons to choose what you feel like paying, but the fact remains that it is your choice, not some long string of middle-men marking up the price and leaving the musicians with very little.

And guess what the average price is for the albums they sell? $8.93. Not only is it ~80% above what someone has to pay, but it is even ~12% above what it is suggested people pay. So when people can listen for free to their heart's content and they feel they have all the information necessary to make an informed and comfortable decision, they are more than happy to not only pay for music, but pay for it at a rate higher than they are asked to pay. On the one hand this is amazing, but on the other hand, it doesn't surprise me. And I think it is fantastic.

So everyone head on over to Magnatune and listen and buy some really interesting new music. Maybe some day you'll see aesthetic evidence up there.