Aside from the fact that any band with such an obvious visual pun in their name should be banned from doing anything this close to Halloween, Radiohead has, at least for a few weeks, made the Internet smile.
On the surface (yes, there will be complaining later) it’s very nice to see one of the MegaBandz coming out with a decent alternative business model. Of course we all remember the Smashin’ ze Pumpkinz bid to change the industry, and how it looked more like a rhino trying to hump a live sea otter, metaphorically.
Paste does a good job of summarizing the hype-so-far, which, to the band’s credit, is relatively mysterious. The publicity value of this stunt is nearing neo-Russian-tycoon-yacht proportions, and the more the press speculates, the more hookers they can afford to fill their yacht with.
The overwhelming media response, especially in blog-town-USA, has been essentially, “Radiohead are the greatest; I want to have babies with them, digitally, for one British penny.” Let’s take a step back and look at some aspects of this which the band-camp has left in the dark.
While the dudes in Radiohead enjoy wealth somewhere between Batman and the dude who owns the James Bond trademark, they’re negotiating their new contract with EMI. That’s right, I’m suggesting that this will not last forever; remember they’ve only said that this name-your-price model will be available for people who pre-order the download. Could this all be a bargaining chip on a closed-door negotiation table? . I’m not saying it is, buy they’re not saying it isn’t.
So while it’s very refreshing to see a new take on the record industry, I wouldn’t go calling Radiohead the People’s Messiah, at least not yet. Maybe they just realized In Rainbows sounded exactly like their last three records and thought, “shit, we better give this away because we’ve already sold it twice.”
You’re right. My post was written before I found out that a physical CD release was planned for the future. I jumped the gun. But I refuse to correct it or write anything else about that fucking band because I’m sick of hearing about it.
They’ve basically tricked people into paying for an advance leak to benefit their own bottom line and I hate them even more now. The worst part about it is, even if their album is horrible, it will still be considered BEST THING EVAR by their fans.
At least they’re not “free” with a cup of coffee; got my new Joni Mitchell track today at Starbucks.
Full disclosure – I’m a radiohead freak. But, that being said – this IS the Best Thing Ever (or EVAR). Here’s the thing – I don’t necessarily think this is a new business model – nor do I think it’s going to change very much. Radiohead are one of a handful of acts that could pull something like this off. They’ve got a dedicated, obsessed fan base of 750K people. They could never release another record and still sell out arenas anywhere in the world at any time. They can also make a deluxe package for their fans and they will pay for it. I for one generally buy their records on CD and vinyl and then collect all the singles. When all is said and done, I probably pay close to $80 every time a radiohead record runs its course. So – being given it all in one gulp is pretty sweet.
Now, enough flattery. Please explain to me how giving away your record months before a label may or may not have access to it and giving your base the opportunity to buy your deluxe package directly from you enables you to strengthen your bargaining position. From a label’s perspective, the band are basically going to hit all of their fans in the first two months. Radiohead don’t make many new fans when they release a record. They are so removed from the mainstream media at this point that it’s essentially their core fan base that buy the records (even with the opportunity to download a leak illegally). So, if you figure that the 750K people that have purchased their last two records will have either downloaded them from a radiohead sanctioned site – or bought the physical package directly from the band, you’re losing lots of opportunity to make money. Coupled with the fact that casual radiohead fans will likely take a chance on a free download – the size of the audience you’re going to reach is greatly diminished.
D-W,
First, thank you for being that kind of fan; sincerely, you are why people can still make a living playing in a band.
Now, enough flattery. This could be the equivalent of a labor strike. So, essentially Radiohead is telling EMI, “hey, we’re costing you money every day you don’t meet our demands,” Those demands most likely being sixteen or seventeen metric asstons of cash, and a tugboat full of blow.
In addition I should mention that claiming Radiohead is “so far removed from the mainstream media,” is like saying Bono doesn’t like attention. Radiohead are the mainstream media … especially after this stunt.
Will some fans get the record for free? Yes … will even more fans who would have downloaded it for free, illegally, now pay $8.00 under some delusional notion that Radiohead is the Karl Marx of the Music Industry? … yes.
two things:
1) Who says Bono doesn’t like attention?
2) Radiohead aren’t the mainstream media. The mainstream media is picking up this story and running with it – and making it a mainstream story. I don’t mean to suggest that they’re some unknown band toiling in obscurity – but, they are certainly not in the mainstream. If Bono and Edge fart it sells 5 million records worldwide. OK Computer has sold 2 million copies worldwide since its release ten years ago (during an era where Nsync could sell that many in a week). There was no press release about this. They didn’t alert the media. Jonny Greenwood posted a short message about it on the band’s own website – and their fans spread the story. It was picked up by the mainstream. That’s a testament to the power and size of their fan base, but it’s not the same thing as Billy Corgan taking a full page ad out in the sunday paper to announce the who gives a fuck reunion of half his band.
We can agree to disagree on some of the finer economic points you make – but nobody I know in the music industry thinks Radiohead have changed anything. Nor are they Karl Marx. If they’ve done anything, they’ve put the system on notice. They’re going to sign a deal regardless, because it makes sense for them to do so. But – what they’ve done is fire a warning shot. One that says, “hey assholes, get your heads out your asses or the biggest artists with all the power and the fans will abandon you and you’ll be left selling Elvis Presley records to an ever disinterested populace.”
The end.