Last month when the band Radiohead decided to release it's latest album, In Rainbows, over the web via a "Pay Us What You Want" pricing model, people took notice.
The band was rightfully praised and lauded for breaking with tradition and experimenting with a new economic model. The pricing model they used is one that goes completely against what in the past has been common wisdom.
In the past the rule was - "You set your price, not your customers."
But then Radiohead turned that upside down by saying to fans - "Tell us how much you think our new album is worth and we'll agree to your price"
So while I loved what Radiohead did, I'm even more impressed by what Paste Magazine is doing.
Taking Radiohead's lead, for a limited time Paste is allowing people to name their own price for a one-year subscription. On the newsstand, a one year of Paste costs $65.45. One-year subscriptions are $19.95.
To thank those who decide to pay more than the current subscription price, in February, Paste will recognize those who pay the most in
the actual magazine.
For me, what Paste is doing is even more interesting than Radiohead. Unlike Radiohead, Paste doesn't already have millions of fans around the world who are already anticipating their next release. And unlike Radiohead, Paste is producing a physical product that has physical publishing costs for each issue printed, rather than a digital download where each new copy produced has no incremental costs.
Springwise quotes Tim Regan-Porter, Paste's President and Publisher as saying - "We were curious to know what our customers thought we were worth. And what better way to find out, than to let them tell us? While it's certainly a bit unconventional, we also see it as a chance to get our product in the hands of people who could become lifelong fans. It's been our experience that once people become familiar with Paste, they turn into loyal readers."
The word is that Radiohead has earned more than $10 million in sales from their "Pay What You Want" release. It'll be even more interesting to see how well the model works for publications like Paste.
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