Paste Magazine Lets Readers Name Their Price for One-Year Subscription

Paste, a music magazine that ships with a free CD insert each month, has borrowed a page from Radiohead's playbook by offering one-year subscriptions to their magazine (normally $20/year) for any price over a dollar.

Subscribers who choose to pay more than the normal $19.95 asking price will have their names printed in an upcoming issue of the magazine, but the entire year-long subscription can in fact be had for $1, as I just confirmed.

A Paste representative explains that the plan was directly inspired by Radiohead's grand experiment in variable pricing:

"The campaign came about from a casual conversation atthe Paste offices discussing the recent Radiohead campaign and the JimCollins book, Good to Great. 'We were curious to know what ourcustomers thought we were worth. And what better way to find out, thanto let them tell us,' explained Paste President/Publisher TimRegan-Porter. 'While it's certainly a bit unconventional, we also seeit as a chance to get our product in the hands of people who couldbecome lifelong fans. It's been our experience that once people becomefamiliar with PASTE, they turn into loyal readers,' added Regan-Porter.
Interested readers can order multiple subscriptions to Paste, as longas there is a valid mailing address, so even gift subscriptions areencouraged."

This is certainly a bold move for Paste; I just paid a dollar for 11
issues of their magazine, each of which comes with a 20-song CD. Thetrue test of the idea comes next year, when all of us cheapskatesdecide whether or not to renew for the full price.

Subscribe to Paste for $1 and up