For free or not for free

Given that Radiohead's fans are often devoted and sometimes obsessively so, you might be surprised to hear that, so far, around one third of those who downloaded the band's latest album In Rainbows did so without paying a penny.

Then again, you might also be surprised that two thirds did cough up - although how much they spent might not exactly make the band's eyes water.

According to some reports, some individuals logged on and paid as little as a penny (plus the 45 pence credit card transaction charge). Others, like the Guardian's Naresh Ramchandani, overspent out of some kind of communal guilt for those who hadn't been particularly generous.

Others bought the not-so-cheap deluxe box set and got the download into the bargain - well, if you're going to pay £40 for the artwork, you might as well get every version going.

The oddities, though, are the amounts people decide are appropriate to pay for the download.

Dub Williamson, who works in financial PR in London, picked out £4 as his price of choice because, he said, "I'd heard that was about how much a band get from the sale of a CD once you take out the costs of the retailer, distributer, record label etc...

"But I'd have probably brought the album in a shop anyway if it had come out on CD, I still prefer doing things the old fashioned way."

Another downloader, who would prefer to remain anonymous, said he paid nothing for his download of In Rainbows.

"I think it's good what Radiohead have done but I don't feel guilty for not supporting them financially," he said.

"I download around two albums a week for free from illegal download websites," he said. "I've just got into the habit of getting albums for free."

But Williamson thinks the gamble should be rewarded: "I thought it was a brave thing for Radiohead to do, and even though they probably don't need the money, I thought they should be rewarded for taking the chance."

Downloading without paying doesn't seem to be about how much you like the band. Our illegal downloader insists that he is a "really big fan" but sees the web as a free medium: "I don't associate listening to music on the web with paying for it ... I see it as just files not as something physical like a CD."

Like Prince's giveaway with the Daily Mail during his O2 residency in London, Radiohead's "pay what you like" marketing strategy is a bold step. But the band are in a good position to make money from it given their status and following.

Let's not forget the many fans who will stump up the £40 for the box set - fans like illustrator Nadia Shireen who says: "I wanted the original artwork. I always regretted not getting the beautiful limited edition Amnesiac, which was lovingly packaged in a dusty old book."

Already a trend seems to be emerging. Nine Inch Nails are reportedly planning to market their new album in the same way as Radiohead.

But what effect this will have on the music industry as a whole, and the new bands that do not have the status and financial backing supporting big bands like Radiohead, remains to be seen. Would such a marketing ploy work for them? Let the downloaders decide.

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