Last week, Radiohead released its newest album In Rainbows. This was very unconventional, as the band released its record without the help of a record company. The band chose instead to release the album online in two forms. The more traditional way was offering a special-edition, jeweled CD case loaded with extras ,including a few songs only available in this package, for around $80.
The other is a completely electronic method. Similar to iTunes, this album could be downloaded from the band’s website straight to your computer, but here’s the catch: you choose the price. That’s right, Radiohead has decided to let their fans decide what they want to pay for the music.
In an industry where the highest-selling CD last year was the High School Musical soundtrack, it’s not too surprising to see an independent band look to these alternative distribution plans for getting its music to the people, but letting them name their price is an experiment no one else has done, at least on this scale. The optional price is made possible by the enormous amount of revenue the band earns touring, which is the way most bands earn their living today.
Many have speculated that Radiohead, regardless of what they earn from the release, will benefit from this new release method. The attention for this release and the critical acclaim that the album has received has provided the band ample promotion for an upcoming tour. As a music fan and a business major, I’m astounded that others haven’t put this into practice before.
Unmentioned above is the amount of money some record company executive won’t be able to throw into his 401k this year. In most record deals, the record company takes home an overwhelming majority of the profits from album sales. If Radiohead’s model is to be followed in the future, this could make for more troubles in an already struggling industry.
Pearl Jam members and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails have already said they are looking into using this same release method for their upcoming projects. Madonna recently signed a new deal with Live Nation, Inc., a concert venue network, for her next record contract. This deal puts more of the value on concert revenues and also intends to use album releases as promotional tools for concerts.
Some new artists, like British pop-star Lily Allen, have complained that Radiohead’s album release sets an unfair example in the music industry that upstart artists can’t compete with. There has also been concern that record companies will create more controlling contracts for artists that entail every aspect of music creation and performance, like concert tours and all promotional events. These concerns are the remnants of an archaic system in which artists asked record companies, much like we used to ask our parents, for the artists’ allowance for doing what the record companies told them to do.
Artists releasing on their own will have no one telling them what they can and can’t do. Fans will benefit from this process when the unnecessary costs that go along with working with a record company are removed from album pricing equations.
For this most unconventional release, I want to thank Radiohead for allowing the fans of music to have a voice in the industry that has seemed to be fighting fans for the rights to music. With all the lawsuits and file sharing over the years it’s seemed like music lovers were forced to choose between their wallets and their allegiance to bands. Fans have no reason to even consider downloading an illegal copy and opening his or herself up to legal consequences. Radiohead has come to the table and mediated this dispute with a solution beneficial to all.
Aaron LaPlante is a senior in the John Cook School of Business.
