To pay or not to pay for music?

A new entry in TR’s blog on the Spiral:

10/27/07 : Standing in the shower, thinking...

What I woke up thinking about today.
What I WANT to do is crawl inside my own head and just make music. I've begun work on a new NIN project and the door to the cave I will soon crawl in is open and beckoning, but these last few weeks I've had to be a businessman. On occasion I don't mind wearing that hat and becoming immersed in numbers and strategies and whatnot, but all I really want to do is make music.
Why have I been in business-mode lately? Glad you asked. See, the music business has imploded and nobody knows what to do. As an artist finally free from any obligations to a record company, I can do pretty much anything I want to - but what should that be?

How do you (in this order):
A. Be sure to place and keep yourself in a nurturing, creative space that inspires your art
B. Then determine how to present that to your audience in an appropriate fashion that's respectful to both you the artist AND them.
C. Ideally do that in a way where it makes financial sense.

I highly doubt whether the strategy Saul and I chose to release his new record will be a viable business model for the road ahead. We didn't do this as a "get rich quick" scheme. We did it because it felt (and feels) like the best way to get the most people to have the opportunity to hear what we consider to be an important record. It feels like the best approach as of October 2007 with the current set of circumstances in the "marketplace" (I hate that fucking word.) We did it because it kept the art PURE and it involved NO compromises regarding the content or the way it was presented to you. No iPod commercials, no ringtone giveaways, no billboards, no Best Buy exclusive content... and one could argue no exposure.
That's the problem. How do you get the word out to as many people as possible and maintain your integrity in the process?
We assumed that by releasing the record this way it would generate some press interest, and it has. We hope that people will be curious enough to download and listen to the record, and yes - we hope people will choose to pay for it.
I have to say I've been amazed at some lengthy conversations I've seen on fan BBs regarding the decision to pay or not. People who are interested enough to register and frequent boards dedicated to an artist's work really having to weigh out whether or not it's worth $5 for an hour of new music. Has music really and truly been devalued that much? $80 is a decision, $5 is not.

All of that aside, our secret weapon is the record itself. It is what it is and that's what people will be talking about long after the story of the business around it fades away.
Speaking of business... I'm done speaking (or thinking) about it for the day. I'm going to make some noise.

Good day,
TR

When the money in question is 5 USD then it’s not a money issue. 5 bucks is not even discussable-that’s approximately the price of a cappuccino at Starbucks or a pack of cigarettes. So the way I see it is not about whether people can afford to pay those money; it’s about the choice people make what to spend their money on. Case closed. Everyone that keeps arguing about it is nothing but a hypocrite. I hate hypocrites. And I don’t use the “H” word lightly.

I already paid my 5 dollars last Friday; and I pre-ordered Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D. It's good to have a credit card. Paying is the only way to show appreciation for the music.