Yesterday I downloaded the new Radiohead album In Rainbows. Much has been made in the press about what should be a fair price to pay for this work. As the downloader is only obliged to pay in excess of 1p (all prices here in UK sterling) for it, will most buyers give the band a reasonable return?

There seems to be a media consensus that between 5-7 is reasonable, as opposed to shop prices for CDs ranging from 10-15. However, I'm not so sure. Things to bear in mind are:

- the download is a 10 track album. In December, a digibox version will be released with the 'proper' album and an additional 8 tracks so what we have here is only around 55% of the final work

- the band are not having to press up a CD or design and manufacture any artwork

- shops normally take 50% of the album retail price for themselves. With brand new, discounted and heavily racked items, they often take in excess of that

- remove the above production and retail costs, along with warehousing and transportation of CD stock and what is left is often less than 3

Me, I've paid 4.45 (this includes the 45p charge which is added for the credit card transaction), giving the band a clear profit of 4, certainly more than they would get for a CD of this length through the normal retail channels.

So, is the music any good? Yes, it's wonderful and I've been playing it fairly constantly over the weekend. Will I also buy the digibox in December. Undoubtedly.

Will these kind of downloads become the norm? I'm not so sure. Once downloaders realise they are unlikely to get any feedback from the band, or corporate management, scorning them for paying only a pittance, I'd guess many people will pay as little as they can. For the moment, the experience is still a novelty but, in the future, if it becomes commonplace, it may well become something akin to those who constantly fare-dodge on public transport. I applaud Radiohead's faith in the general public but I guess I'm always a little pessimistic when it comes to offering people a chance to actually pay more for something.

If, on the other hand, this is simply an exercise to promo the album to the public in advance of the actual CD, prevent bootlegs leaking out early and make some advance money (over 1.2 million downloads of the album are reported since 10 October), then this is a whole different scenario.

However, for all the bands just starting out, and trying to get their music heard, will this undervaluing of music by major stars act as a further spiral downwards on CD sales in general?
Only time will tell.

Learn more about this author, George Bloggs.
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