Radiohead's new CD for whatever you feel it's worth!

imo, it's a sales gimmick.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2007-10-15-radiohead-download_N.htm

people "donating" a fair amount will be displeased to know that they will have to actually pay retail later to get the album at a standard cd quality bitrate.
this is one of the reasons i think itunes is a ripoff at a 128 bitrate.

The quality's not too bad to listen to as an MP3 but when I burnt the tracks to a CD as cda files the quality was terrible.

Anyway, it's a good and cheap way to 'test the waters' as I didn't like the album and am glad I didn't pay more than I did for it (yes, I did pay something).

either way the best bitrate you'll get is 160.
i choose at least cd quality (192) for my cd burns.
most i burn at 320 because i listen to them on my home theater system and the differance at volume is noticeable.
i think it's a gimmick/ripoff because they could have easily offered these downloads at 192 or above.

i think it's a gimmick/ripoff because they could have easily offered these downloads at 192 or above.

So if Bill Gates gave you a Toyota and said "just pay whatever you feel like" you'd be ripped off because he could have given a Porsche?

i think it's a gimmick/ripoff because they could have easily offered these downloads at 192 or above.

So if Bill Gates gave you a Toyota and said "just pay whatever you feel like" you'd be ripped off because he could have given a Porsche?

lmao, exactly, precisely what i meant.
your anology is spot on.
if he represented it as a porsche, or allowed the asumption to exsist knowing that some people would "donate" a reasonable sum for a sportscar of that calibre yes i would concider it a "ripoff". you bet your bippy.

but seriously, i'm not sure if they were up front what you would be paying for as far as the bitrate goes.
not quite a "bait and switch" but pretty close.
to be totally honest most people won't notice the diff at a 160 bitrate, i'm just kinda anal about that kinda stuff.
it should be posted up front what bitrate you are "donating" for.

Oh, I agree with that. I kinda forgot people would actually pay the first time: I see it more as a system to download it for free first, think about what it's worth and then fill it in and re-download it. For those who pay the first time having the quality settings would be pretty important.

As for I-tunes, I'm not going to pay $1 for a 128kbps song if I can buy the album on CD for $8. :roll:

this is the next wave from CDs in a store. Madonna hs just dumped her record company, Warner, and is going this route.
the average payment to Radiohead has been 8 dollars. that is very much in line with what CD buyers would prefer to pay.
Cold play I heard also dumped a record company. David Lindley has been selling his own music, CD, for years now.
but MP3 downloading albums???? too much compression going on with that. the sound quality and what was actually recorded is jepordized or compromised.
is this new generation of Ipodders accepting this high compressed music?
I am coming from vinyl, cassette tape, and CD. and since I have begun home recording I understand what can be lost with compression. I am passing on this type of downloading yet. (Radiohead's music is icky anyway).
I do like the idea of bands dumping soulless corporate record makers that give us junk like Brittany, but it will hurt many small record stores that I love. not talking big ones like Sam Ash, but cool ones like the Electric Fetus in my city.

After glancing at this thread, I went for it. And I am just as picky as twistedlefty seems to be re: sound quality. And furthermore, Radiohead's odd move worked on me; I decided to pay 4.5 pounds out of "fairness" or something (guilt???). In addition, I intend to purchase the CD (and special editions) when it's released. And as if that's not enough, I found the sound and material quality lacking after having a listen yesterday on my computer. Not bad. Just not my fave Radiohead stuff (although I only listened once so far).

My name is musica and I am a musicaholic. :|

I was somewhat dissapointed first time through, but I've had it on repeat for some days know and it's still growing on me. Can't stop listening now!

That's encouraging, Ignar. I generally enjoy Radiohead very much, but listening on computer only once is not a fair trial! I'll burn it (even though it's sub-standard quality-wise) and listen some more. "Hail to the Thief" (not even my favorite CD from them) ended up in my car (a real honor!) after a few listenings, so my expectations are high. No matter what, I'll find it preferable to most new stuff of late. :)

128 bitrate is horrible but I'll download it and see how I like it.

More musicians should dump their record their record labels. Down with the RIAA

128 bitrate is horrible but I'll download it and see how I like it.

The Radiohead download is 160 mbps mp3, not 128. That's a little better.

For those trashing iTunes for being 128 -- that's AAC, not mp3 ... big difference in those codecs