Radiohead was the first band to gain recognition for applying a ‘pay what you want’ distribution model to an album and despite its resounding success, not many bands have followed suit. Perhaps it was the hype that made their little experiment a success. A handful of bands have given it a shot since then but they hardly gained the media blitz enjoyed by Radiohead and results have been mixed. Surely this distribution model has its place somewhere however, right? RCP Tones, a ringtone maker we’ve covered before here on BGR when discussing our deep unrelenting hatred of lame ringtones, is giving ‘pay what you want’ a go with one of its recent ringtone album releases, Electronic Ringtones Volume 1. The album consists of 45 original studio-quality ringtones (in iPhone and standard MP3 format), none of which will cause people to give you the stink eye when your phone goes off in line at the supermarket. RCP allows you to sample several tones in the pack and if you like what you hear, the album is yours at any price you see fit – even if that price is $0. Unlike the typical ‘pay what you want’ model however, RCP caps the price at $8.99 so even if your father is the Monopoly guy and you wipe caviar from the corners of your mouth with $100 bills, the most you can pay is $8.99. What do you guys think? Does ‘pay what you want’ have a home in ringtone sales? We think Sony should give it a try with the PS3… Its revenue can’t get much worse, can it?
