You can pay whatever you want for They Might Be Giants' new album
Like Radiohead before them, They Might Be Giants -- bear with me -- is letting its fans pay whatever they want for the band's new album.
The Brooklyn band's 19th studio album, Phone Power, is available now, at tmbg.com/phonepower.
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Pay $15, and you'll get the deluxe bundle, which includes 17 videos as well as a live stream of the band performing on the final leg of their US tour in April. Pay $20, and you'll get the deluxe version and a CD copy. Or you can pay $0, which is totally fine too.
The album is being released through TMBG's own label, Idlewild Recordings.
Radiohead famously became the first major act to use the pay-what-you-want method in 2007, releasing its seventh studio album, In Rainbows, without a label. Despite the fact that around 62 percent of fans paid nothing for the album, it still went on to make more than its predecessor Hail To the Thief. But the album was also pirated at 10 times the rate of other new releases at the time, according to NPR.
They Might Be Giants seems aware of that risk, politely asking fans to not pirate the album: "We respectfully ask everyone not to overthink our intentions and start posting the files for free everywhere. They Might Be Giants really does rely on sales to pay for our videos, recordings, apps and a host of other things. Right? Thanks."
Like Radiohead, They Might Be Giants says the pay-what-you-want option won't always be there: "We hope to sell some of them in the near future when people realize how good it is."
They Might Be Giants also heads out on tour later this month. Here's the full list of dates:
3/17: Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live
3/18: Covington, KY @ Madison Theater (18+)
3/19: Milwaukee, WI @Turner Hall
3/20: Chicago, IL (Kids Show) @ Vic Theatre
3/22: Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown
3/23: Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre (16+)
3/25: Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre (16+)
3/26: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre SOLD OUT
3/27: San Diego, CA @ Belly Up (21+)
3/29: Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
3/31: Austin, TX @ Stubb's
4/1: Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
4/2: New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues (18+)
4/3: Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
4/5: St. Petersburg, FL @ The State Theatre
4/7: Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
4/8: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse SOLD OUT
4/9: Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle SOLD OUT
4/10: Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
4/16: Washington, DC @ USA Science & Engineering Festival
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Topics Music
