this radiohead thing then.

Album's out in 10 days, a digital download with recommended "donations," although it can be free if you want, or the £40 box set. Anyone got any thoughts on this?

Strikes me as a very progressive step, possibly an insane one, but still.

www.radiohead.com if you don't know.
 

tate

Brown Sugar
From TIME.com:

"Roughly 12,000 albums are released in an average year, so the announcement
late Sunday night that the new Radiohead record, In Rainbows, will be out
Oct. 10 is not itself big news. Sure, Radiohead is on a sustained run as
the most interesting and innovative band in rock, but what makes In
Rainbows important — easily the most important release in the recent
history of the music business — are its record label and its retail price:
there is none, and there is none.

In Rainbows will be released as a digital download available only via the
band's web site, Radiohead.com. There's no label or distribution partner
to cut into the band's profits — but then there may not be any profits.
Drop In Rainbows' 15 songs into the on-line checkout basket and a question
mark pops up where the price would normally be. Click it, and the prompt
"It's Up To You" appears. Click again and it refreshes with the words
"It's Really Up To You" — and really, it is. It's the first major album
whose price is determined by what individual consumers want to pay for it.
And it's perfectly acceptable to pay nothing at all.

Radiohead's contract with EMI/Capitol expired after its last record, Hail
to the Thief, was released in 2003; shortly before the band started
writing new songs, singer Thom Yorke told TIME, "I like the people at our
record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone
needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to
say 'F___ you' to this decaying business model." On Sunday night,
guitarist Jonny Greenwood took to Radiohead's Dead Air Space blog and
nonchalantly announced, "Hello everyone. Well, the new album is finished,
and it's coming out in 10 days. We've called it In Rainbows. Love from us
all."

While many industry observers speculated that Radiohead might go off-label
for its seventh album, it was presumed the band would at least rely on
Apple's iTunes or United Kingdom-based online music store 7digital for
distribution. Few suspected the band members had the ambition (or the
server capacity) to put an album out on their own. The final decision was
apparently made just a few weeks ago, and, when informed of the news on
Sunday, several record executives admitted that, despite the rumors, they
were stunned. "This feels like yet another death knell," emailed an A&R
executive at a major European label. "If the best band in the world
doesn't want a part of us, I'm not sure what's left for this business."

Labels can still be influential and profitable by focusing on younger acts
that need their muscle to get radio play and placement in record stores —
but only if the music itself remains a saleable commodity. "That's the
interesting part of all this," says a producer who works primarily with
American rap artists. "Radiohead is the best band in the world; if you can
pay whatever you want for music by the best band in the world, why would
you pay $13 dollars or $.99 cents for music by somebody less talented?
Once you open that door and start giving music away legally, I'm not sure
there's any going back."

The ramifications of Radiohead's pay-what-you-want experiment will take
time to sort out, but for established artists at least, turning what was
once their highest value asset — a much buzzed-about new album — into a
loss leader may be the wave of the future. Even under the most lucrative
record deals, the ones reserved for repeat, multi-platinum superstars, the
artists can end up with less than 30% of overall sales revenue (which
often is then split among several band members). Meanwhile, as record
sales decline, the concert business is booming. In July, Prince gave away
his album 3121 for free in the U.K. through the downmarket Mail on Sunday
newspaper. At first he was ridiculed. Then he announced 21 consecutive
London concert dates — and sold out every one of them."
 

continuum

smugpolice
I think this (and what Prince has done) are great ideas and steps in exactly the right direction. When the old industry is gone we won't have to listen to any more of the rubbish they try to pass off as music and the mainstream media outlets will gradually have to open up to the (in their fear-filled eyes) dreaded real. The effect this could have on Western/Westernizing populations could be very dramatic.
 

leamas

Well-known member
I think this (and what Prince has done) are great ideas and steps in exactly the right direction.

In a way yes, though it's also a selfish act in another sense: they have effectively undercut all the other competing albums, knowing that they are established acts who are likely to recoup money on touring, merchandise etc... I think it's very clever, but if it sets a precedent for giving away music free, how will the smaller independents survive? The role of small record labels in fostering younger acts is still crucial to their development, and the smaller labels are unlikely to recoup money from alternative sources. If people stop paying for music (on whatever medium) completely, it will ultimately stifle the emergence of younger producers.

I see that the pressure on artists to get more gigs and perform live will grow, and this may be a good thing. However, the reality is that most entry-level live gigs are completely unpaid. In fact most bands at this level are expected to buy tickets off the promoter to sell onto their friends if they want to play at all.

IMO stunts like this are necessary, but perhaps premature. Forget the labels for a second, but if I was a retailer looking at potential staff redundancies and shop closures I would be fairly pissed not to get any custom out of the year's two biggest albums. And if there hadn't been any retailers in the first place, would Radiohead even exist now?

In the meantime I'm looking forward to hearing the album. ;)
 

mms

sometimes
It's ok to act like this if your albums have sold millions already and as leamas notes, a band this size doesn't get there because there are 4 members in a room making music, but i'm pleased after people have spent lots on their albums they're able to give them something for free. It has nothing to do with the record industry though, more like the consciences of the band members who are very wealthy, in part thanks to the industry that supported them.
i won't be buying it or getting it for free, radiohead are boring simpering middlebrow cardigan thumbers
 

continuum

smugpolice
I understand what you are both saying. I think though that for change to occur there has to be collateral damage to other innocent areas of this industry. To use Simon Reynolds book title - rip it up and start again.

Radiohead and Prince are just ahead of the curve on this and quite logically making early moves. Whether this actually helps them in the long run remains to be seen. But what has gone before will be totally irrelevant if the industry goes down as many are predicting. The time of looking back is over.
 

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
radiohead are boring simpering middlebrow cardigan thumbers
Totally agree. Also one of those acts guilty of repackaging (ripping off) 'avant garde' ideas from genuine innovators to sell to their simpering fans.

I tried the pre-order thing on the website but it wouldn't let me enter minus figures.
 

mms

sometimes
I understand what you are both saying. I think though that for change to occur there has to be collateral damage to other innocent areas of this industry. To use Simon Reynolds book title - rip it up and start again.

Radiohead and Prince are just ahead of the curve on this and quite logically making early moves. Whether this actually helps them in the long run remains to be seen. But what has gone before will be totally irrelevant if the industry goes down as many are predicting. The time of looking back is over.

oh the industry has damaged itself and will continue to, it's long been incredibly greedy, flaunting it's wealth and the wealth of the artists etc, bullying retailers etc, selling tat , only those willing to change and develop will survive.
 
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Gavin

booty bass intellectual
Let's not ignore the boxset dynamic here. Radiohead's been making money off of overpriced unnecessarily elaborate packaging, artificially rare EPs and singles, limited editions etc. for a while, and this looks to be the same thing in action. Eighty bucks for a record? They have thousands of drooling fans who will automatically shell out for this stuff, I don't think their income from sales will suffer that much.
 

mms

sometimes
Let's not ignore the boxset dynamic here. Radiohead's been making money off of overpriced unnecessarily elaborate packaging, artificially rare EPs and singles, limited editions etc. for a while, and this looks to be the same thing in action. Eighty bucks for a record? They have thousands of drooling fans who will automatically shell out for this stuff, I don't think their income from sales will suffer that much.

well this is where the highly desirable object side of music comes in!
i wouldn't be surprised if they read woebot!
also mp3s are shit. :)
 

shudder

Well-known member
well, this is at least as interesting as their last couple albums, I'll say.

I'll be one of those idiots pre-ordering the mps, but fuck me if I'm spending 80 bucks on the records. Obviously they could only do this from their ultra-privileged position, but to see it from their pov, it's kinda a nice move (well, again, except for the box set..).
 

Woebot

Well-known member
just last night i was thinking about how they dropped the ball after kid A.

i don't mind radiohead actually- but really i suppose because of those two records. ok computer and that one. and i only have the latter.

what i'm really interested in is what this rainbows thing is going to sound like......and i bet a thousand dollars it'll be pretty conservative record. to give away something skronky with such a self-consciously avant-garde gesture would be just a little too brave....
 

elgato

I just dont know
oh thats quite disappointing. to me they will remain cardigan thumpers :cool:

what does it mean to thumb a cardigan?
 

Hugo

New member
It's an interesting approach, but I really doubt that it's the future of music delivery. As has already been pointed out upthread, it will only work (if it does work) if you're already a mega-band with a huge public profile. They're basically taking the "brand" upmarket. Forget the actual music, with P2P etc it's no longer worth anything. So give the music away and instead market a £40 "objet d'art" to the hardcore fans. If this only generates a third of what their previous albums generated, they're OK since they don't have to pay protection money to a record company. (I doubt it'll actually make that amount, though.)

My best guess as to how the music industry will actually look ten years' hence is some sort of download licence bundled in with the ISP monthly subscription fee.
 
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