It's no secret that the Internet is slowly but surely bringing music labels to their knees.
Physical record sales are dropping by phenomenal amounts, online services like iTunes are converting more and more customers every day and consumers continue to turn to sharing programs to download new music. And now, as if the industry didn't have enough problems, one of the biggest-selling musical acts of our generation is giving their new album out as a free download.
The music world was shocked last week when Radiohead multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood announced that his band's new album, In Rainbows, would be self-released as a DRM-free MP3 download. What's even more startling is that the band is allowing fans to pay however much they want for the files. In effect, Radiohead is handing out their music for free and asking for a donation. In case you'd prefer to buy something physical, the band is also contracting the release of a box set (which includes the album on vinyl and CD, with bonus content) for £40 ($81). All profits go directly to the band.
After 2003's Hail to the Thief capped off Radiohead's six-record contract with EMI, many speculated the band would take an unorthodox approach to the release of their seventh LP. Almost no one, however, had suspected the band would so totally ignore the traditional means of music distribution. Radiohead's market plan cuts out every single middleman in the business -- there will be no single for radio promotion; critics will not receive advance records for review; there will be no label to manage the printing and distribution of the album; promotional companies will play no part in the hype surrounding In Rainbows.
Does this approach mark the beginning of a massive retooling of music distribution?
Not for all bands. There are only a select few artists who would be able to pull off a coup like this. Radiohead, with more than a decade of major label promotion and critical acclaim, is in a particularly enviable position. As one of the biggest bands in the world, it boasts an extremely devoted fan base, one that is willing to pay for music even if it doesn't have to. Would the latest emo boys on Pete Wentz's Fueled by Ramen imprint be able to do this with any degree of success? It's doubtful.
Radiohead could, however, be blazing a new promotional pathway for other, similarly gigantic music acts. In fact, the Oxford-based quintet is not the first to try a stunt like this. Just a few months ago, pop superstar Prince had label managers pulling their hair when he handed out free copies of his new album Planet Earth with issues of the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday. At first blush, this might seem like an odd and expensive way to promote one's music. Prince's critics, however, were quickly silenced when he proceeded to sell out no fewer than 20 shows at the London's O2 Arena. With a capacity of 20,000 people and ticket prices roughly five times the price of Planet Earth, Prince found himself raking in a tidy profit.
Forward-thinking musicians such as Prince and Radiohead are embracing a distribution approach that has the potential to cut the music industry out of the loop entirely. Will their bold experiments spark change in an obviously outdated system?
Guy Hands, the president of Radiohead's former label EMI, as quoted by the Telegraph, recently described Radiohead's move as "a wake-up call which we should all welcome and respond to with creativity and energy" before going on to declare EMI will have to either embrace the online medium or go out of business.
We can only hope other labels will take his words to heart. In the meantime, we have the incredible opportunity to listen to the latest album from a great band without the critical bias of music reviews or the commercial hubbub of radio singles and unneeded promotion. For once, it really is just about the music and the musicians who created it.
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