In 2007, the alternative rock band Radiohead released their seventh studio album, In Rainbows. Although the band announced that their new album would soon be available in CD form, they also implemented what must have seemed like an extremely risky strategy. Fans who didn't feel like waiting for the CD had the option of downloading the album directly from the Radiohead website in the form of a DRM-free ZIP file. Fans also had the option of ordering a CD version self-published by the band. No minimum price was set and people wanting the album were simply instructed to pay whatever they wanted.
Beginning on October 10, 2007 and continuing until December 10 when the download option was terminated, In Rainbows became one of the most successful albums in the band's history and the Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) pricing scheme also became part of rock legend. Though PWYW had been around for decades, it was the Radiohead release that showed how successful it could be. Since that fateful release in 2007, PWYW has been adopted by other independent musicians and has even by used by restaurants, movie theatres, and digital distributors.
To read more, check out my new Psychology Today blog post.
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