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Radiohead Asks Fans, ‘What Is Music Worth?’
by
findingDulcinea Staff
British rock band announces that fans can pay what they want for its new album, sparking a debate throughout the music industry over the place of free, downloadable albums.
30-Second Summary
Since the group debuted in 1993 with the album “Pablo Honey,” Radiohead has seen its following grow into a zealously loyal international fan base.
So when the band announced that fans could pay as much or as little as they wanted to download its seventh album, everyone seemed to take notice.
On Oct. 7, the Times of London was inspired to run an article titled “The Day the Music Industry Died.”
Despite the portentous headline, what the piece revealed was not an industry facing demise at the hands of an ever-thinning profit margin, but rather one failing to adjust to changing attitudes about the role of records, CDs and downloads.
According to the Times, album sales worldwide are plummeting. As a result, savvy marketers and artists are increasingly using LPs as promotional tools for profit generation in other areas such as concerts and merchandising.
As intriguing as it may be to “make people think about what music is worth,” as Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood put it in an interview with Rolling Stone, giving consumers what they want is also a shrewd business move. So shrewd in fact, that a number of artists are already following suit.
So when the band announced that fans could pay as much or as little as they wanted to download its seventh album, everyone seemed to take notice.
On Oct. 7, the Times of London was inspired to run an article titled “The Day the Music Industry Died.”
Despite the portentous headline, what the piece revealed was not an industry facing demise at the hands of an ever-thinning profit margin, but rather one failing to adjust to changing attitudes about the role of records, CDs and downloads.
According to the Times, album sales worldwide are plummeting. As a result, savvy marketers and artists are increasingly using LPs as promotional tools for profit generation in other areas such as concerts and merchandising.
As intriguing as it may be to “make people think about what music is worth,” as Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood put it in an interview with Rolling Stone, giving consumers what they want is also a shrewd business move. So shrewd in fact, that a number of artists are already following suit.
Headline Links: Radiohead’s online move and 'In Rainbows'
Radiohead has cut out the middlemen, releasing its new album without a record label or a major distributing partner. However, Time suggests that digital distribution is not what it could be, and that “the smartest thing would be for the majors to collaborate on [the] creation of the ultimate digital-distribution hub, a place where every band can sell its wares at a price point of its choosing.”
Source: Time
For those who aren’t sure whether they want the new album, Rolling Stone provides a track-by-track preview.
Source: Rolling Stone
Radiohead first announced the album’s release and pay-what-you-want pricing on Oct. 1 on its blog “Dead Air Space.”
Source: Dead Air Space
Background: Thom Yorke in Time, Radiohead’s past album reviews, and Prince’s LP giveaway
The Oxford rockers’ contract with music industry giant EMI/Capitol expired in 2003 after the release of their last album, “Hail to the Thief.” In addition to releasing their new project without a record label, the band also forewent the assistance of a distribution partner, making “In Rainbows” available solely on their Web site. Shortly before Radiohead began work on the new LP, singer Thom Yorke shared his thoughts on record labels with Time magazine: “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 [get rid of] this decaying business model.”
Source: Time
“In Rainbows” is Radiohead’s seventh album release since the band debuted in 1993 with “Pablo Honey.” The group’s past albums have routinely been met with accolades from fans and critics alike. Rolling Stone offers its reviews of the band’s previous recordings.
Source: Rolling Stone
On Sunday, July 15, 2007, Prince gave away an estimated 3 million copies of his 46th album “Planet Earth” with the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday. His move angered Sony BMG, the company responsible for the album’s worldwide release. Prince told the BBC, “It's direct marketing and I don't have to be in the speculation business of the record industry, which is going through a lot of tumultuous times right now.”
Source: The BBC
Reactions: Interview with Radiohead guitarist, other artists follow suit, and British rockers voice support
On Oct. 10, Rolling Stone writer Brian Hiatt interviewed Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood about the new album. When asked why the band chose to release “In Rainbows” digitally, Greenwood replied that it was “partly just to get it out quickly, so everyone would hear it at the same time, and partly because it was an experiment that felt worth trying, really.” When Hiatt asked about the pricing—or lack thereof—Greenwood said, “It’s fun to make people stop for a few seconds and think about what music is worth, and that’s just an interesting question to ask people.”
Source: Rolling Stone
Madonna is rumored to be leaving Warner Brothers Records for a lucrative $100 million deal with concert promoter Live Nation. The new deal would give Live Nation the rights to Madonna’s next three albums, and the exclusive rights to promote her concerts and market her merchandise. The contract underscores the increasing importance of artist-related revenue streams other than album sales.
Source: The Financial Times
Trent Reznor, the front man of and creative force behind industrial rock pioneers Nine Inch Nails, has announced that his recording contract with Universal Music Group has expired. Although Reznor has not revealed whether he intends to follow Radiohead onto the Internet, last month he did express his displeasure with the retail prices being charged for his albums. “Steal it,” Reznor told concertgoers in Australia. “Steal away. Steal and steal, and steal some more and give it to all your friends.”
Source: CNet
The Charlatans, a popular British rock band, has announced that it too will be offering its next album as a free download. The band’s upcoming release, yet to be named, will be available for download on the Web site of the British indie music station Xfm.
Source: The Belfast Telegraph
Hip hop producer Will.i.am is putting his next album, “Girls,” out on his own Will.i.am Music Group/Interscope label. At the same time he is making a deal with online distributor Musicane, to create an artist-tailored media player and store that fans will be able to embed on their social-networking profiles and blogs. The producer says the move is an acknowledgment that “the new distributors are not Tower Records. The new distributor is your niece."
Source: USA Today
British indie rock icons Ian Brown, former singer of the Stone Roses, and Johnny Mar, ex-guitarist for The Smiths, have applauded Radiohead for flouting the recording industry with their new album. Brown said it was a “fantastic idea,” adding that he supports “anything that can break the music industry up.” Marr commended their faith in fans: “We’ll see if their good faith is rewarded. I think it will work.”
Source: The BBC
Opinion and Analysis: 'In Rainbows' and the music industry
Guy Hands, CEO of the private equity group Terra Firma, which recently purchased Radiohead’s former record label EMI, has advised his staff to take notice of the band’s pricing tactic. In an internal e-mail, Hands wrote that Radiohead’s move was “a wake-up call which we should all welcome and respond to with creativity and energy [the music industry] has for too long been dependent on how many CDs can be sold … Rather than embracing digitalization and the opportunities it brings for promotion of product and distribution through multiple channels, the industry has stuck its head in the sand.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph of London
The Times of London describes a music industry trend that sees records, CDs and music downloads functioning as “promotional tools—useful to sell concert tickets and fan paraphernalia.” Although this shift away from the LP as a source of revenue could prove ruinous for the recording industry, “There is still good money to be made in music, particularly on the concert circuit.”
Source: The Times of London
Advertising Age offers a slightly different take on Radiohead’s decision, writing that although it may undermine the recording industry, it also suggests “that consumers, despite being depicted by record labels and movie studios as a thieving bunch of copyright violators, are willing to pay even when they don't have to if they're given some flexibility on price point and there's a real relationship between consumer and content provider.”
Source: Advertising Age (may require registration)
A message for the recording industry
Mike Masnick, of technology blog “Techdirt,” uses Radiohead’s move as a springboard to attack the Recording Industry Association of America’s insistence on battling digital file sharing with litigation. Masnick writes, “For years we've been pointing out business models involving free music that don't need require [sic] the RIAA to sue everyone. For years, we've been highlighting the very basic economics for why these business models will almost certainly take over the industry. And, now that we're starting to see some serious traction among bands adopting these models (without RIAA help), we've even explained why the RIAA should still have an important place within this model … For all of their suing activities, more file sharing than ever is going on … and more and more musicians are opting out of the RIAA mill to craft much more consumer-friendly business models.”
Mike Masnick, of technology blog “Techdirt,” uses Radiohead’s move as a springboard to attack the Recording Industry Association of America’s insistence on battling digital file sharing with litigation. Masnick writes, “For years we've been pointing out business models involving free music that don't need require [sic] the RIAA to sue everyone. For years, we've been highlighting the very basic economics for why these business models will almost certainly take over the industry. And, now that we're starting to see some serious traction among bands adopting these models (without RIAA help), we've even explained why the RIAA should still have an important place within this model … For all of their suing activities, more file sharing than ever is going on … and more and more musicians are opting out of the RIAA mill to craft much more consumer-friendly business models.”
Source: Techdirt
Referred to in the preceding link, “Techdirt” offers its own example of a business model exploiting the dissemination of free content.
Source: Techdirt
Related Topics: Other free online offerings and RIAA battles with file sharers
Radiohead may be one of the world’s most popular bands, but they are certainly not the only ones making their music available free of charge online. The “Free Albums Galore” blog offers an extensive catalog of free music available online legally and free of charge.
Source: Free Albums Galore
Illegal file sharing is more prevalent than ever. Although the music industry has tried to stem this digital tide by taking file sharers to civil court, the public relations backlash from their latest victory could prove more damaging than helpful. The Recording Industry Association of America recently won a lawsuit against a single mother of two, Jammie Thomas. Thomas, who makes $36,000 a year, was found guilty of copyright infringement and ordered to pay the RIAA $200,000.
Source: CNet
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