Thom Yorke Made $20 Million on BitTorrent Album?
As many musicians still struggle with the ability to make money off of their music inside and outside of cyberspace, Radiohead’s 
Thom Yorke is seemingly laughing all the way to the bank…with very heavy pockets.
In September, Yorke released his Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes solo album through BitTorrent for $6. What made this strategy interesting was that he used the BitTorrent Bundle direct-to-fan publishing forum, which SPIN describes as a place in which “musicians and other artists combine free downloads with paid products.”
Explains BitTorrent: “BitTorrent Bundle is a community of over 170 million fans from 120 countries around the globe. We’re one of the world’s largest collectives of fans. Bundle users are 170% more likely than average Internet users to buy digital music downloads. On average, our global fan base spends $48 a year on music, and $54 on movies. We’re also united by our love for the unapologetically offbeat. 61% of Bundle fans describe their taste in music and film as unconventional. This is where weird and creative thrives.”
Well, people seemed to really like this concept, as more than 4.4 million downloads of Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes occurred. With 90% of the album’s revenue going back to Yorke, it’s believed that he made roughly $20 million on this project.
That’s what can be read between the lines here, but needless to say, Yorke isn’t one of those fellas who likes to scream about his earnings from atop a mountain. We’d like to think he was doing okay before this.
For those who prefer Radiohead albums to Yorke solo endeavours, do note that the band is still working on a follow-up to 2011’s King of Limbs.
-Adam Grant
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