With their contract at Capitol expired, and no new label signed to, Radiohead is selling their new album, In Rainbows, out 10/10/07 only through their website. The price, whatever you feel like paying. That's right give them whatever you feel the music yr. downloading is worth. Even zero dollars will get you the download. I think this is a bold move for them, but given the fan base they have I think they will still move lots of "units". They had an album debut at number one on Billboard with no radio singles after all.
So will the success of this album prompt other artists who would rather not be on a label, but possess large devoted fan bases to throw off the constraints of the music machine and sell their art for whatever people are willing to pay. I could see R.E.M. doing something like this in the near future, although they seem to need a producer present to make the most of their music, and those will usually take corporate money to hire.
This also raises the question of sales tracking, will the album be on the Billboard charts? Will these sales be tracked? Could this be the future of digital music? Will bands start making music in their own studios and then distribute it online in form of pay what you want DRM free MP3s? Would such a thing be good for music in general? Image would start to play less of a factor. A band would have to establish a fan base through touring, or the wonder of myspace music.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah did this very thing with their first album, which is quite good by the way. They built a fan base through myspace and other online "salons" and released an album that was self published and sold only through their website. They were able to move 50,000 units simply through live shows, online word of mouth, as well as real life word of mouth. Quite a feat in this day and age of mass produced and prepackaged garbage music.
I am quite excited to see what will happen with this Radiohead launch, I think they will do quite well. The industry will ignore it, and in 3 or 4 years when CD sales have reached even new lows, and the disposable music they are trying to cram down yr. throats no longer excites even the preteens that they are trying so desperately to get hooked on it. They will say how much illegal downloads of music and all sorts of other BS is killing the industry.
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I think it is cool, but it is going to take some time to get used to, for sure. Even though the percentage of music that I personally pay for is getting lower and lower (shhh) I still find a nostalgic comfort in the theory that if I wanted to, I could buy the album from the music store. Maybe that's just me, showing my age or my mixed feelings on the speed at which these dern computers are becoming indispensable and how much that freaks me out...I worry about theoretical people who don't have internet access and how they are stuck listening to radio and I don't like it.
but, good for Radiohead for saying f-u to the record lables, I really do understand, and I think the whole set your own price shows us all just how little revenue the bands get from album sales (Most of the big money is in concert tours, right? Thats what I was led to believe at least)
I think I would do the same thing if I was in a band.
Well Radiohead will also release the album on vinyl and CD if you would like to wait till December for it. When you preorder it from the website you get the download as well. The way I feel about it is that if there is an album that I really want to "listen" to, meaning wanting to hear every note and really enjoy the work. Then I will buy the album on vinyl. But if I'm just checking out the latest band from Glasgow or whatever and I want to know if they are worth a crap, I will download it, and not care about the fidelity of the files I download. If it turns out to be awesome music I will buy the record.
As far as the money being in the touring, if you are a band that has made some money already, then yes the real money is in touring. However the way it works for upstarts is this. The label signs you. You make an album that the label pays the production costs for. Then you tour in promotion for the album. All the money that is made from the tour is then given to the record company to cover the cost to make yr. album. Then, you probably signed into a 3 or 4 album cotract, those albums have deadlines. So while you are on tour you have to also be writing and rehearsing new material. Because you are writing new work on the road it's going to suck. You get hit with the Sophomore curse, the critics pan yr. second effort, no one buys it and the label casts you aside. So the music machine as it were, chews these bands up and spits them out. Only a very, very small portion of them "make it". And the reasons behind mass market success are elusive and not at all based on talent. So it is a very harsh world to enter. You are almost better off trying to make it on yr. own, if you have the desire to drive around the country in a van with the rest of the folks from yr. band and all yr. equipment in hopes of selling tickets as well as even getting gigs in the first place. Or just work locally, and work yr. ass off. Become the greatest self promoter there ever was. Hard work and quality music will get you farther than the coporate music machine. For the most part. Unless of course you think that you have that special something that's gonna make you a star. So support yr. local muscians as much as you can. They are working hard to entertain you. If there is a band you like and you have the ability, go to their gigs. Chances are the music they are puttin' down is a as good or better than the crap on the radio, or MTV or where ever it is the masses get their music from these days.
I think I'm just gonna have to wtite another post about this topic.
It always comes back to buying local doesn't it.
Yikes.
I did not know all that, mister smartie :)
I guess we need to get some babysitters and go down to the shows again soon, huh?
But we knew that.
Hey, so what about the few bands that do get airplay and don't suck? are they just super awesome or super lucky or what?
Good talent scouts maybe. With a lot of luck thrown in.
Hey, I'll watch your kids for you while you go catch some great local music :-)
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