Jul

7

What Would You Pay for Good Music?

Post Category: Blog Posts, Culture, Music Reviews, Technology 

Last week a revolutionary new music download service was launched that, in my opinion, will redefine how independent artists get their music to new listeners. This new service is called NoiseTrade and was started by none other than singer/songwriter Derek Webb who in 2006 gave away over 80,000 downloads of his ‘Mockingbird’ album for free online.

The concept behind NoiseTrade is simple, “A great record is its own best marketing tool,” says Webb. “All the marketing dollars in the world can’t accomplish what one great record can, especially if it’s set free to roam around and connect with the right people.”

NoiseTrade gives you two ways to download music.

  1. Tell 3 friends about NoiseTrade or
  2. Pay what you want

That’s right. This service lets you actually set your own price for what you think the album is worth. Even better, 90% of what you pay goes directly to the artist as opposed to iTunes where well over half what you pay gets split between Apple and the record label (see this article).

Even though this service was launched last week I’ve already seen the catalog of albums offered grow. Even better, there are some excellent artists getting in on this such as Joy Whitlock and Katie Herzig. I’m convinced that this represents a huge paradigm shift in the way that new music is distributed in the future.

What do you think of the NoiseTrade concept?
If you had a choice, would you pay what you thought was fair for good music?
What do you think is fair for a digital album download?

Comments

12 Responses to “What Would You Pay for Good Music?”

  1. Adam on July 7th, 2008 11:07 am

    I think it is a great way for Independent artists to get their music out there. Personally I would would pay $10 for a cd. I think that is the standard amount alot of online places charge these days.(iTunes ect) I may pay more if a song moves me to tears in the little 30 second sound bite. I would just hate to see people buying cd’s for $1. That wouldn’t be cool at all.

    Adams last blog post..Here It Is..

  2. Tyler on July 7th, 2008 11:56 am

    i love this. i would pay $10 for an established artist that i already like. $5 for someone i don’t know.

    Tylers last blog post..Life Will Be Different Now

  3. Abbey on July 7th, 2008 12:16 pm

    It’s a great concept, but there are so many dishonest people out there that would try to rip the artists off…I would be afraid of that.

  4. CJ Mills on July 7th, 2008 12:32 pm

    I’ve already downloaded several albums off of this! Great concept…

    CJ Millss last blog post..A Little Day Dreaming…

  5. Dave Carrol on July 7th, 2008 12:34 pm

    Yeah man… i think that Derek Webb is such an innovative thinker.

    Frankly… whether it works or not… the guy is making a difference by striking out and doing something creative.

    Love it

    Dave Carrols last blog post..Everything Changes

  6. seven on July 7th, 2008 1:36 pm

    I am poor, so I’ve been doing the “tell 3 friends” thing. I think it’s a good way to get some new music while spreading the word about these artists to people who wouldn’t have known about them otherwise.

  7. Happy White Man on July 7th, 2008 2:17 pm

    Dude, great find. I’d pay $10 for a good album. At least, that’s what I pay on iTunes.

    The tell three friends concept rocks! Very cool idea.

  8. Nick on July 7th, 2008 3:09 pm

    Cool concept. I am with some of the others above, I would pay $10 for a full album.

  9. brandiandboys on July 7th, 2008 5:07 pm

    very cool, thanks for keeping me informed, i’m going to check it out right now!

    brandiandboyss last blog post..Don’t Look

  10. Mike Jones on July 7th, 2008 8:04 pm

    Okay, I have to admit, I wasn’t so on board with this at first. But I just went and downloaded Derek Webb’s album on NoiseTrade and it was a really cool experience. I chose to share with three friends and I’m eager to see their responses!

    Mike Joness last blog post..Music Monday: Praise Music

  11. nate on July 7th, 2008 9:03 pm

    I love the concept. Perhaps Webb (who I am a fan of) got the idea partially from Radiohead who allowed the consumer to set the price fro their latest release, “Rainbows.”

    If I ever publish any music, I will follow this route, and would not be offended if most fans decided not to pay me a dime. Most artists make their money from ticket and merchandise sales anyway.

    Great post!

  12. Reba on July 8th, 2008 1:24 pm

    Love this site. I think it is about time.

    I also picked up my subscription to Paste. I had been buying them at Borders..now I can just sit back and wait at home for it!

    Rebas last blog post..This song always makes me cry

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