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Radiohead leave album cost to fans


Farin

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[big]Radiohead leave album cost to fans[/big]

[smaller](Monday October 01, 2007 04:49 PM) yahoo.co.uk[/smaller]

Radiohead have shocked their fans by asking them to choose how much they want to pay for the band's new album.

The band, whose best-selling albums include OK Computer, announced their seventh album, In Rainbows, on their website.

They said of the price "it's up to you" - and then added: "No really, it's up to you."

Because the album is only available on their website, the band's latest offering will not be eligible for the chart.

Fans can either pay £40 for a deluxe box set on CD or download from October 10 at a price of their choosing.

Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood made the announcement online.

The band, led by Thom Yorke, are also planning a traditional CD release of In Rainbows for early 2008.

Radiohead decided not to use a record label after fulfilling their contract with EMI following their 2003 album Hail to the Thief.

The music industry was also reacting to the news that The Charlatans are giving away their new single, You Cross My Path, free on the internet.

Alan McGee, the Britpop band's manager, said The Charlatans believed the current business model for selling music was redundant and future income would come from ticket sales for live shows and merchandise.

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[big]Radiohead Fans Overload Site With Pre-Orders[/big]

[smaller]October 2, 2007 fmqb.com[/smaller]

Late Sunday night, Radiohead stunned the music world with the announcement that their new album In Rainbows would be released in just ten days, and that fans could pay whatever price they wanted for the digital-only release. The album is only available via Radiohead.com and the site has been flooded with traffic as the story spread.

Guitarist Jonny Greenwood wrote on the band's "Dead Air Space" blog that their merchandise division w.a.s.t.e is "working on the current gear-grinding at inrainbows.com... it's getting busy in there - busier than they expected. So if you please bear with us, it should get cleared out soon. I sound like a bouncer. Get behind the rope. No denim. Thanks for your patience with the site & interest in the record."

The music industry has been a buzz over Radiohead's plan for In Rainbows, which also includes the sale of a deluxe 'discbox' set as the only announced physical release of the record. However, a traditional CD release of the album is expected sometime early in 2008.

"This is all anybody is talking about in the music industry today," R.E.M. manager Bertis Downs told the Los Angeles Times. "This is the sort of model that people have been talking about doing, but this is the first time an act of this stature has stepped up and done it. They were a band that could go off the grid, and they did it."

"My head is spinning, honestly," added Kelly Curtis, who manages Pearl Jam. "It's very cool and very inspiring, really."

Wired editor Nancy Miller told the Times, "We've been waiting for just the right band at just the right moment. Right now is it. Radiohead is the perfect band. After finishing its contract, we expected something revolutionary. I thought they would start their own label. Instead, they have done something more interesting: They decided not to decide."

She added, "We've seen the crumbling of bigger labels, but there haven't been any big 'Aha!' moments, that risky departure. It's an interesting move, a terrific example of an artist exerting a terrific amount of control. It's definitely going to be successful."

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They likely have decided they have all the money they'll ever want ( including future residuals and sales to a new generation of fans discovering them now - especially after this stunt ) . Now it's time for immortality as a band . This will likely do it - to the chagrin of others not quite there in terms of fame nor wealth , or those yet to come along . Roman emperors throwing free bread and coins to the masses before the games ... pure exihibitionism , god bless them , and what's 'new ' is old ... things never really change . :)

Both The Stones and The Beatles had to contend with being ripped off and nearly bankrupted by nasty accountants / agents etc . in the bad old days of management . Once bitten , twice shy . They learned , and , no , aren't/ weren't as likely to be as charitable ... though The Stones certainly could afford to now - point taken .

The Stones' 'charity ' , if you will , was adding a number of venues to the last tour that almost never see big name acts - and were in ecstasy to have the chance to - such as Billings , Montana , and Regina , Saskatchewan ; places where a ' Herman's Hermits ' reunion or the like are usually the biggest draws .

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Thom on "In Rainbows"

[smaller](Thursday October 11, 2007 03:50 PM) yahoo.co.uk[/smaller]

Thom Yorke has spoken publicly for the first time about the release of the new Radiohead album, "In Rainbows", earlier this week.

The band have been the subject of huge media focus in the days leading up to and following the online unveiling of the follow-up to "Hail To The Thief".

Yorke admits it's "a relief" for the download to finally be available, saying he marked the occasion by spending the day in his local pub.

"Hope you are enjoying listening to the download of 'In Rainbows'. It's a relief to us all that finally it's out there.

"It's been a mad couple of weeks, as I'm sure you can imagine", he said, in a posting entitled "Hard Hat On".

Meanwhile, Johnny Greenwood has been discussing Radiohead's decision to release "In Rainbows" as a download-only, saying they simply wanted to put it out quickly.

He explained: "It was kind of an experiment as well; we were just doing it for ourselves and that was all.

"People are making a big thing about it being against the industry or trying to change things for people but it's really not what motivated us to do it.

"It's more about feeling like it was right for us and feeling bored of what we were doing before", said Greenwood.

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Interestingly ; I think this may all be a social statement by them in order to point out who can give and who can't ... to whatever end , God only knows . :stars:

Hopefully , they won't release the results ( for a fee ) to a credit bureau or like sponser who is secretly underwriting the whole project ! Free indeed , you bastar*ds ! :shocked: :laughing: :laughing:

Anyway , Radiohead has had their day and they're done now ...

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Both The Stones and The Beatles had to contend with being ripped off and nearly bankrupted by nasty accountants / agents etc . in the bad old days of management . Once bitten , twice shy . They learned , and , no , aren't/ weren't as likely to be as charitable ... though The Stones certainly could afford to now - point taken .

This is true. I think the "choose the price" thing isn't so much a reflection on Radiohead's artistic legitimacy (the music is what reflects that) as it is a reflection on the advantages of today's music industry. Even the biggest names in music in the 60's wouldn't be able to pull this off due to a corrupt industry, and even if the industry is still corrupt, albums like "In Rainbows" show how a band can be successful by avoiding the music industry completely. "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" and their self titled debut album is another great example of this.

I wonder if things are going to go uphill or downhill from here.

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That's not what I said at all. I wasn't talking about management, I was talking about the fact that the Stones were part of a label, and labels are pretty much inherently corrupt. And that's nothing against the Stones, it's just unfortunate that back in the 60's, a corrupt record label was necessary to achieve popularity.

But the statement you made I'd like to focus on more is this: "Anyway , Radiohead has had their day and they're done now ..."

I'm just wondering if you're being completely sarcastic or if you're just completely ignorant. Radiohead just released two days ago another amazing album that's on par with the great stuff they've been making this half of their career, and you're saying "they're done?" That just doesn't make any sense to me.

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