Pumpkins!

Would you pay?

Last week Mike told me about the fact that Radiohead was going to be pre-releasing their new album "In Rainbows" from their website. The new angle is that you can choose how much to pay for the album download. The guys on Sound Opinions were super excited, saying this is the end of the record industry and a revolution in the making. Of course, the artists are hoping people pay for the record.

Standard economic theory would predict that there's not much of an incentive for anyone to pay. But my friends Ralph and Ruppert showed me research that showed that people often do pay for things in similar settings and supporting theories for such behavior.

So here's the quiz:

1. How much would you pay for a new album by your favorite band?

2. How much do you think I paid for the new album?

I'll confess the answer to the second question in a week or two.