Pay What You Want vs. Set Your Price
The uncomfortable truth most artists avoid
I had a conversation this week with an artist who said:
“Everything I release on Bandcamp is pay what you want. I don’t like paywalls for digital media.”
And honestly?
I get it.
There’s something beautiful about that idea.
No barriers. No gatekeeping.
Just art moving freely between people.
It feels generous. It feels open. It feels… right.
Until it doesn’t.
The Case for “Pay What You Want”
There is a version of this that works.
When an artist has:
a real audience
consistent output
and trust built over time
“Pay what you want” becomes a connection tool.
It invites people in. It lets fans support at their own level. It creates a sense of participation. At its best, it says:
👉 “Take what you need. Give what you can.”
And in the right context, that’s powerful.
Where It Breaks
Here’s the part people forget...
Most artists using “pay what you want” are missing:
a large audience
consistent visibility
or strong buyer behaviour from their fans
So what happens?
They:
put work out
get a few downloads
maybe a couple small payments
…and that’s it.
No momentum.
No sustainability.
No feedback loop that reinforces the work.
It feels like generosity.
But functionally?
👉 It’s invisible.
The Question Under the Question
This debate is less about pricing models.
It’s more about something deeper:
👉 Do you believe your work deserves to be paid for?
Not in theory.
In practice.
Because if you fail to set a price, one of two things happens:
People default to free
Or they guess—and usually guess low
That’s not because they’re assholes... or don’t care…
It’s because you failed to provide a frame.
The “Nice” Trap
There’s a version of “pay what you want” that lives in the conscious / creative world that sounds like this:
“I just want to share my art”
“I don’t want money to be a barrier”
“People will support if they resonate”
And again—there’s truth in that.
But there’s also a shadow side:
👉 avoiding the discomfort of asking for money
Because pricing your work forces you to confront:
your value
your confidence
your relationship with money
And that can be hard for some.
So “pay what you want” becomes a softer option.
Not always intentionally. But often.
The Reality Most Artists Face
If you’re:
early in your journey
still building consistency
still figuring out your audience
Then “pay what you want” usually leads to:
👉 underpayment
👉 low engagement
👉 and slow growth
Not because your art isn’t good.
Because there’s no structure around it.
What that can lead to is a cyclical narrative of worthlessness… especially if you’ve yet to do the work in other areas of your life to build that muscle up.
A More Honest Approach
Am I suggesting we ban “pay what you want.”
Of course not…
I’m saying, “hey, what if we started using it intentionally?”
For example:
free or PWYW for discovery
clear pricing for core offers
premium pricing for deeper experiences
That’s a system. Not a guess.
Where I Land (Right Now)
I’m not anti “pay what you want.” You’d be hard pressed to find me anti anything really… lol
I’m pro:
👉 artists building something sustainable
Because at some point, you have to decide:
Is this something I do occasionally…
or something I want to build a life around?
If it’s the second one — you can’t avoid the conversation around value forever.
Final Thought
Access matters. Connection matters.
But if the artist can’t sustain themselves…
none of that shit lasts.
If you’re an artist reading this, I’m genuinely curious:
👉 Where do you land on this?
Reply or comment. Let’s actually talk about it.
ps. If you’re curious about where you stand in this all, we created a 2 minute quiz to help independent artists stop guessing and start assessing and move forward with their career in music. Take it here. 👇
pss. It’s Bandcamp Friday and I for one, did set a price for my latest release: Stores in Stereo: Post Rock Poetry Vol. 1 + Meditations. Starting at $47 USD, you can purchase the digital format alongside liner notes of how each song came to be and lyrics for each song (when applicable). There’s 6 post-rocky bangers from the past 4 years, some recent, some of my very first cracks at production and the singing process followed by 3 dedicated NeuroBEAT meditations to help you move thorugh whatever life’s throwing at you these days. Use code substack20 at the checkout here 👇
I appreciate the reframe in this incredibly important topic. The user experience vs the artist experience both need to be taken into account, and you’ve done this here. The approach of having customers “set their price” resonates because you’re saying the product has a price, and you’re allowing the customer to set their own, which activates their critical thinking to decide what they believe that product/experience is worth.
Thanks for the thoughtful article my friend 🙏🏼