Pay what you want: how this model manifested itself in music, and who tried to earn it
Last year, the income of the music industry reached a 10-year high. However, not all this money goes to musicians (in fact, they receive a little more than 10%).
In an attempt to earn "bypass" is not particularly generous streaming services , the performers have resorted to alternative monetization options. One of them is the pay what you want model, which involves the sale of an album or track without intermediaries at a price chosen by the listener. Let's tell who has already taken advantage of the PWYW approach.
Photo by Thomas Le / Unsplash
One of the first musicians to test the model was Christian rock performer and preacher Keith Green. He was a prominent representative of the “ people of Jesus ” movement, a symbiosis of Christian fundamentalism and hippie culture that flourished in America in the 1970s.
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The first albums of the musician were distributed in religious literature shops, and customers received an additional copy of the album - to give to a friend. But Kit wanted to reach out to poor listeners, and so he decided to sell his third album on the principle of "pay what you want".
At that time, the Green family had a free weekly newspaper with an audience of one hundred thousand subscribers. When the work on the album ended, the next edition of the newspaper included information on how this album can be ordered. The stars of the Christian scene and family friend Bob Dylan participated in the recording, so it’s not surprising that Keith sold over 200 thousand copies of the album in the first three years. Of these, only 61 thousand were sent free of charge.
It is not known for certain how this move paid off. The musician’s motivation was primarily ideological. In the end, in order to record an album, the Green family had to re-pledge their home. But all subsequent work Green also distributed under the scheme "pay what you want" - until his death in 1982. Other musicians of similar caliber, apparently, did not use the system.
With the advent of broadband, the model has become much more attractive. Digital distribution has minimized the cost of distributing music, prompting a number of musicians to resume experiments in this field.
In 2005, punk singer Jeff Rosenstock released a digital album under the pseudonym “Bomb The Music Industry!”. This project was an expression of the dislike of the musician to the established order in the industry.
A radical DIY artist ethic has spread beyond the sale of albums. Instead of recruiting a full-fledged group, he performed to the accompaniment of an iPod, and sometimes invited members of the public who learned the songs at home to the stage. His popularity is largely due to the reluctance to follow the "norms." Therefore, the musician still continues this practice and even sells vinyl records according to the scheme of pay what you want.
The general public met the “pay-what-you-want” model in 2007, when Radiohead shocked the press, thus releasing the album In Rainbows . He became the group's first work on an independent label - Radiohead's contract with EMI expired in 2003.
Therefore, this behavior could be regarded as a public gesture. Despite the fact that the archive with the album contained low-quality mp3-files, the group earned more on donations than on the sales of their previous record. The album is still considered one of the best works of the team.
Photo by Kevin Dooley / CC BY-SA / Nine Inch Nails at a concert in Phoenix, USA / Photo cropped
In the same year, platforms appeared that allow musicians to sell albums without a fixed price. The main one - Bandcamp - quickly attracted stars such as Amanda Palmer and Sufyan Stevens. Also influential independent labels migrated to the platform. But a significant part of the "major" Bandcamp releases still can not be downloaded for free. As a rule, performers set the minimum cost of loading.
Does the pay what you want model work financially? The answer depends on how popular a musician or band is.
Nine Inch Nails posted their album on BitTorrent, because this is how the album was downloaded by the listeners of “In Rainbows”, even if there are official channels. Moreover, these two groups were popular from the very beginning, and such a marketing move aroused the interest of even more people.
Now you won't surprise anyone with such monetization, so if the performer is not a superstar, the approach is not perceived as an “auction of unheard of generosity.” However, amateur musicians and adherents of the DIY philosophy still often use this format.
They do it more quickly because it is still hard for them to turn music into a full-fledged income . It is easier to let people download their product for free or almost for free than, in principle, to abandon these listeners.
The same model (sometimes somewhat modified) works during public speeches of such groups. Fans of open culture, hippies and "socially charged" teams often hold concerts, which are paid at will. Small concert venues and bars where such performances are held, earn money by selling alcohol, and not entrance tickets.
If for collectives with a worldwide name, the pay what you want model is an occasion for public speaking and, to some extent, additional PR, for less popular musicians, it’s more a forced measure: it’s better to get a fan or at least an interested listener than immediately scare it off with a high price tag.
Photo of Paulette Wooten / Unsplash
And in some cases, such an approach is a reflection of the artist’s worldview, who does not want to turn creativity into a business. It is unlikely that the pay what you want model will exhaust itself in the near future - but it is also unlikely to be mainstream among musicians.
What else to read on the subject in our blog "Hi-Fi World":
Glitter and poverty: how the digital revolution made musicians poorer
Why music is no longer recorded as before?
One of the streaming giants launched in India and attracted a million users in a week.
What is 8D audio - discussing the new trend
Situation: meditation apps become more successful than podcasts
Popularity jumps, or where modern pop stars earn
In an attempt to earn "bypass" is not particularly generous streaming services , the performers have resorted to alternative monetization options. One of them is the pay what you want model, which involves the sale of an album or track without intermediaries at a price chosen by the listener. Let's tell who has already taken advantage of the PWYW approach.
Photo by Thomas Le / Unsplash
The first experiments: on the verge of charity
One of the first musicians to test the model was Christian rock performer and preacher Keith Green. He was a prominent representative of the “ people of Jesus ” movement, a symbiosis of Christian fundamentalism and hippie culture that flourished in America in the 1970s.
')
The first albums of the musician were distributed in religious literature shops, and customers received an additional copy of the album - to give to a friend. But Kit wanted to reach out to poor listeners, and so he decided to sell his third album on the principle of "pay what you want".
At that time, the Green family had a free weekly newspaper with an audience of one hundred thousand subscribers. When the work on the album ended, the next edition of the newspaper included information on how this album can be ordered. The stars of the Christian scene and family friend Bob Dylan participated in the recording, so it’s not surprising that Keith sold over 200 thousand copies of the album in the first three years. Of these, only 61 thousand were sent free of charge.
It is not known for certain how this move paid off. The musician’s motivation was primarily ideological. In the end, in order to record an album, the Green family had to re-pledge their home. But all subsequent work Green also distributed under the scheme "pay what you want" - until his death in 1982. Other musicians of similar caliber, apparently, did not use the system.
Digital revolution and pay what you want
With the advent of broadband, the model has become much more attractive. Digital distribution has minimized the cost of distributing music, prompting a number of musicians to resume experiments in this field.
In 2005, punk singer Jeff Rosenstock released a digital album under the pseudonym “Bomb The Music Industry!”. This project was an expression of the dislike of the musician to the established order in the industry.
The album was recorded on a home computer using trial software versions - which damaged the sound quality, but drastically reduced costs. You could download it for free, and visitors were asked to donate money through PayPal.
A radical DIY artist ethic has spread beyond the sale of albums. Instead of recruiting a full-fledged group, he performed to the accompaniment of an iPod, and sometimes invited members of the public who learned the songs at home to the stage. His popularity is largely due to the reluctance to follow the "norms." Therefore, the musician still continues this practice and even sells vinyl records according to the scheme of pay what you want.
In Rainbows and wide interest
The general public met the “pay-what-you-want” model in 2007, when Radiohead shocked the press, thus releasing the album In Rainbows . He became the group's first work on an independent label - Radiohead's contract with EMI expired in 2003.
Therefore, this behavior could be regarded as a public gesture. Despite the fact that the archive with the album contained low-quality mp3-files, the group earned more on donations than on the sales of their previous record. The album is still considered one of the best works of the team.
Photo by Kevin Dooley / CC BY-SA / Nine Inch Nails at a concert in Phoenix, USA / Photo cropped
Radiohead followed in the footsteps of industrial giants Nine Inch Nails. They released two albums in this way - “ Ghosts I-IV ” and “ The Slip ”, and even placed them themselves on BitTorrent. Like Radiohead, NIN perceived its project primarily as a public statement and a way to surprise the public.
In the same year, platforms appeared that allow musicians to sell albums without a fixed price. The main one - Bandcamp - quickly attracted stars such as Amanda Palmer and Sufyan Stevens. Also influential independent labels migrated to the platform. But a significant part of the "major" Bandcamp releases still can not be downloaded for free. As a rule, performers set the minimum cost of loading.
Reverse side of PWYW
Does the pay what you want model work financially? The answer depends on how popular a musician or band is.
Nine Inch Nails posted their album on BitTorrent, because this is how the album was downloaded by the listeners of “In Rainbows”, even if there are official channels. Moreover, these two groups were popular from the very beginning, and such a marketing move aroused the interest of even more people.
Now you won't surprise anyone with such monetization, so if the performer is not a superstar, the approach is not perceived as an “auction of unheard of generosity.” However, amateur musicians and adherents of the DIY philosophy still often use this format.
They do it more quickly because it is still hard for them to turn music into a full-fledged income . It is easier to let people download their product for free or almost for free than, in principle, to abandon these listeners.
The same model (sometimes somewhat modified) works during public speeches of such groups. Fans of open culture, hippies and "socially charged" teams often hold concerts, which are paid at will. Small concert venues and bars where such performances are held, earn money by selling alcohol, and not entrance tickets.
A good example of this: the Russian rock singer Umka - the “hippie” of the old school. It gives over one hundred concerts a year, most of which are conducted according to the principle “admission is free, a donation is welcome”.
If for collectives with a worldwide name, the pay what you want model is an occasion for public speaking and, to some extent, additional PR, for less popular musicians, it’s more a forced measure: it’s better to get a fan or at least an interested listener than immediately scare it off with a high price tag.
Photo of Paulette Wooten / Unsplash
And in some cases, such an approach is a reflection of the artist’s worldview, who does not want to turn creativity into a business. It is unlikely that the pay what you want model will exhaust itself in the near future - but it is also unlikely to be mainstream among musicians.
What else to read on the subject in our blog "Hi-Fi World":
Glitter and poverty: how the digital revolution made musicians poorer Why music is no longer recorded as before? One of the streaming giants launched in India and attracted a million users in a week. What is 8D audio - discussing the new trend Situation: meditation apps become more successful than podcasts Popularity jumps, or where modern pop stars earnSource: https://habr.com/ru/post/454042/
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