[migrantgeek]

I think that's the point. If you only expect to make 500K* from album sales, it makes sense to sell a single copy for 500K to a wealthy fan and let the content leak out to other fans.

Same pay, less work and more happy fans.

* - I don't really know what the numbers are. 500K is just an example.

[toomuchtodo]

Or crowdsource it and not release it until you hit 500K.

[dllthomas]

Right, this is mostly a threshold-pledge model, with the caveat that one wealthy individual could buy it up and destroy it.

What's interesting is that this model works in a world without copyright - you can always sell the first copy.