p2pnet - rss feed: Radiohead: Big Music’s worse nightmare
p2pnet news | Music:- Is this real? - http://www.inrainbows.com/Store/index.html
I’m standing in Gelson’s, shopping for dinner, and my BlackBerry starts to go wild. All with the above link.
About a new Radiohead record.
Then I get in front of a computer and I read that there’s been a hoax. That the site purporting to count down to Radiohead’s release is fake. But now everybody is saying the story at the ABOVE link is REAL! That the new Radiohead album comes out in ten days and you can pay whatever you want. It’s even on the Record Of The Day site.
Huh?
I got a call from the AP just last week. Asking me what Radiohead would do. I said they’d use the English indie model. License the record to a major for a limited period of time for a ton of bread. You see majors OWN physical distribution. And that’s where the lion’s share of recorded music revenue still is, in CDs, at Best Buy/Wal-Mart and the other brick and mortars left. The majors can get the product in the store and you can get paid. They need the billing.
You still can’t do it alone, even though it’s been thirty plus years since the Dead failed with “Wake Of The Flood”. Hell, PEARL JAM made a deal with a major.
But what if they’re not? What if RADIOHEAD is giving the major labels the middle finger? What if they’re saying WE’RE RICH ENOUGH! That the Net allows you to go straight to your audience. FUCK the middleman who says he’s so necessary.
R.E.M. went for the cash They could have gone indie. Turns out re-signing with Warner was a good move, for they never sold tonnage again, despite getting PAID for selling tonnage. Springsteen went for the check. As did Neil Young.
But none of the foregoing acts are in their prime. They’re riding off into the sunset. They don’t have a hold on the younger generation. Boomers in Bimmers are the fans of these acts, none of whom can sell big numbers anyway. They’re all on victory lap tours, raking in the dough for retirement. Radiohead doesn’t have their dough…shouldn’t they be going for the
CHECK?
Isn’t that the majors’ advantage, they’ve got the money, they can write the CHECK?
Who leaves money on the table. Certainly not the agents. They don’t want StubHub to steal a single dollar from their bottom line. Fuck image and credibility, THAT’S MY MONEY! I’m gonna make a deal with Cadillac. I’m gonna whore my product out on TV. Radio won’t play my music, I can’t get it on the Top Forty, MY HANDS ARE TIED!
It’s not like Radiohead’s living in a different world. But they’re playing by a different rule book. One that says the money flows from the music, that people have to believe in you, that you’ve got to treat them right.
Shit, you can barely get a ticket to a Radiohead show. The venues aren’t big and the demand is incredible. They’re doing it all wrong, don’t they see??
Well, obviously they don’t.
This is big news. This says the major labels are fucked. Untrustworthy with a worthless business model. Radiohead doesn’t seem to care if the music is free. Not that they believe it will be. Because believers will give you ALL THEIR MONEY!
This is the industry’s worst nightmare. Superstar band, THE superstar band, forging ahead by its own wits. Proving that others can too. And they will.
This is what happens when you sell twenty dollar CDs with one good track and sue your customers for trading P2P. This is what happens when you believe you’re ENTITLED to your business. This is what happens when music is a second-class citizen only interested in the bottom line.
There’s no testimonial to Jimmy Iovine on inrainbows.com. No thanks to Rick Rubin, never mind Lyor Cohen. Radiohead doesn’t need those stinkin’ badges. They’re THINKING FOR THEMSELVES!
What did that button say back in the sixties? “Question Authority”? That’s what Radiohead is doing here. They’re not holding back, saying their hands are tied, but are forging into the future.
You can’t make a TV show by yourself. Certainly not a movie. Not that anyone can see. But you can make a record all by your lonesome, it doesn’t cost that much. And you can say exactly what you want, you don’t need to clean it up for
Wal-Mart. And, you can distribute it yourself online. That’s what Radiohead is doing.
Will they make a deal with a major for physical distribution? Will they do it themselves? Or will they leave ALL that money on the table? Shit, that would blow MY mind.
Bob Lefsetz - The Lefsetz Letter
[Here’s what it says on Record of the Day:
As of 37 minutes ago (i.e. midnight), Radiohead’s new album is available to pre-order exclusively from www.radiohead.com. You can buy the DISCBOX or the DOWNLOAD.
The DISCBOX costs £40. It contains the album on CD and on 2 x heavyweight 12″ vinyl, plus an enhanced CD containing “NEW SONGS, ALONG WITH DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTWORK”. All this comes encased in a hardback book and slipcase. Discboxes are being made to order and will be shipped on or before December 3rd. But you also get the download with this package, from October 10th.
Here’s the really interesting part. If buy the DOWNLOAD by itself (which comes without the content on the enhanced CD), you can choose the price. And yes, the price can be 1p, although when we chose 1p and Mastercard, a 45p credit/debit card charge was added.
Whether you buy the DISCBOX or the DOWNLOAD, you can get your digital copy of the album from 10th October 2007.
(You can pay as little as 1p for the download album, but a 45p credit card charge will be added.) - Jon]
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October 1st, 2007 at 12:36 pm
i was waiting for you to write about this. i dont think enough people realize how big of a deal this is. radiohead will be getting 20 USD from me. not some record store around here.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
That is really cool, no other words to describe it. I wish them the best and I hope people dont skimp out with their money.
October 1st, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Can I put a negative value in there? I’d only listen to Radiohead if they paid me.
October 1st, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Yes, you can put in a negative value. It’s all about Digital Day, which is all about online freedom.
October 1st, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Sorry, I meant to say Digital Download Day.
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:40 am
i dont really understand the severe distaste towards radiohead. thats basically like saying that pink floyd and the beatles are so terrible, that youd have to be paid to listen to them. you may not like their music, but you cannot deny that its some of the most critically acclaimed and innovative music of all time. such ignorance. thats like saying that about nirvana, or the beach boys.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:39 am
bo:
Different musical tastes for different people. You shouldn’t be offended if someone doesn’t like Radiohead or any of those other bands you mentioned.
I’m not a fan of Radiohead either, but I think this is a very cool marketing strategy.
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Now wait…..the real question here is if the download version is a lossless version or mp3. If it’s mp3, then everyone, including Radiohead AND the music industry, is missing the point. Lossy format music is NOT the same as that available on a CD. If given the choice between giving the finger to the music industry by getting the mp3 and putting money in the industry’s pocket by buying the actual CD, i’m buying the actual CD.
Here’s to hoping Radiohead gets the point and releases the download version of the album on a lossless format. If not, then who cares where they release it or how much they charge for it.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:28 am
yeah, i am not offended at all if someone doesnt like radiohead. i dont see how i implied that. but its just shocking that people are so blatantly anti-radiohead, when they are as influencial as other huge bands of the past.
thats all im saying. i dont care much for the rolling stones, but im not going to just blindly say things like “the rolling stones would have to pay me to listen to their crap”