The fun answer is “if radiohead can do it, so can we!”

The long answer is a little… well, longer. Over the past few years the prices for digital copies of the magazine, as well as the two cookbooks and Halifax dining guide, have fluctuated back and forth. There are many reasons why we have never really been able to settle on a price, and one of them is the simple fact that we’re not sure what the magazine is worth to the folks who read it. From our perspective each issue is worth plenty, and that’s why we invest so much of our time into it – but gauging other people’s investment interest is not that straightforward. So, through some Internet detective work we discovered a store that allows us to put the price in your hands. This not only means that we don’t have to lose sleep over whether or not we’re charging too much, it also means that if you just don’t have the money, but you really want the issue, you can download it. If you like it, tell your friends. If you don’t, tell us. The magazine has always been about giving folks a soapbox, and we don’t believe the audience should have to be rich to hear what our contributors have to say. In fact, with the move to digital-only distribution, T.O.F.U. is now able to give something back.

I’ll write a little more on that later. For now, go check out the magazine!

Issue #4: pay-what-you-want

So, you may have already heard of bands such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails doing it with their new albums, but have you heard of a commercial business taking the pay-what-you-want plunge?

Panera Bread experiments with “Pay What You Want” model

Although it seems this type of thing has been done before, and worked, with a commercial business, it has yet to be done with a national chain.

As the value of digital media continues to be debated, specifically in the music industry, some pioneers are willing to run their own little experiments before the universal answer is found. For the people at Panera I hope this model works. It seems hopeful and positive to believe that customers will pay a fair price for the services you offer, and it also allows those who are unable to pay a fair price to still have access to your services.

Of course, the risk of not paying your bills is still there. Even though Panera has the Panera Foundation to cover most of their bills, it will be interesting to see just how well they do after putting the pricing in the hands of their customers.

Here at T.O.F.U. we will be doing a little experimenting of our own. Although the old issues are already marked as free, the new issue will be released digitally as pay-what-you-want. So, once we set the little guy free into the world yet again, you lovely people will be able to download it for however much you feel it is worth.

Personally, I’m interested to see how this goes, both for Panera and for T.O.F.U.