Radiohead implements voluntary pricing

[Friday]

http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/news/article/0,,4434638,00.html   

Over the weekend, with little fanfare, Radiohead announced that they will release their seventh album, In Rainbows, as soon as October 10. Yes, that's in ten days. The revolutionary band will make their newest album available digitally in less than two weeks, without the assistance of a label (the band is currently without a label at this time). Then in December, they will release a special edition box-set, complete with bonus material, exclusive photos, vinyl versions of the record, and lyrics. Both are available now for pre-order.

But that's not progressive enough for Radiohead. In another truly bizarre marketing maneuver, the band is selling the digital copy for whatever you want to pay. There is no fixed price—the website allows for you to enter whatever price you see fit. The box-set, however, is a steep $82. If you can wait that long, a tradition CD release has also been planned for early 2008.

This is the track listing:

15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE

And this is the bonus material:

MK1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH
4 MINUTE WARNING

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
10.01.07

[alohamonkey]

+1 for Radiohead 

[Lasse]

Wow. This is truly a good step by Radiohead. I don't particularly like their music but I don't have anything against it either. I guess I'll have to buy this just to spite the music industry nazis.

The RIAA and similar are second only to the current administration when it comes to neglect of individual freedom, privacy and rule of law in the western world. I don't know if you've all been following what they do with regards to blackmailing, bribery, threats of use of force, use of force, vandalism, theft..

[KBCraig]

I think it's funny that of all the cries of Apple's "greed" by indies who refused to sign with them, and cries of "undercutting the market!" by the big labels, we see that some truly revolutionary new ideas have come out that make Apple look stodgy by comparison. Amazon's flexible pricing plan stands to gain some ground, too.

And FWIW, I'm a very happy iTunes customer. I'm happy to have alternatives, though.

[dan_sayers]

People have dubbed music for as long as they've had access to the means. It gets worse with each generation because with each generation, the process becomes cheaper and more widely available. But no matter how extensively the government tries to legislate morality, people are still good and our hearts are stilled touched by intangible entites such as melodies and rhythms.

I appreciate Radiohead's stand. Much different from Metallica using top dollar lawyers to bully the original Napster into bowing to them. I would urge them to take it a step further and offer the album for download on the one hand and a donation button on the other. Some people might be willing to pay more after hearing how good it is. Others might regret that they paid as much as they did because they were disappointed. Music is one of the times when commerce is carried out with one party blind. The internet (and I suppose on a smaller scale, dubbing in general) has empowered the consumer with the ability to enter that transaction fully aware of what it is they're committing to.

Back in the original days of Napster, I had introduced a buddy of mine to a group neither of us had ever heard of. They had played on a late night talk show the night before and I recorded it. We both liked them and being more of the genre he enjoyed, he proceeded to download one of their albums even though he was quite the straight arrow. He thoroughly enjoyed what he heard and despite being a man of meager mans, he happily went out and paid what the local rape record store was charging for it. That was a transaction that never would've taken place withOUT Napster. The record companies never share those stories because they're so blinded by their own greed, they have forgotten the generosity that permeates their fellow man.

[Kat Kanning]

That's cool! 

[alohamonkey]

Back in the original days of Napster, I had introduced a buddy of mine to a group neither of us had ever heard of. They had played on a late night talk show the night before and I recorded it. We both liked them and being more of the genre he enjoyed, he proceeded to download one of their albums even though he was quite the straight arrow. He thoroughly enjoyed what he heard and despite being a man of meager mans, he happily went out and paid what the local rape record store was charging for it. That was a transaction that never would've taken place withOUT Napster. The record companies never share those stories because they're so blinded by their own greed, they have forgotten the generosity that permeates their fellow man.

One of my favorite bands, Wilco, frequently leaks their posts their albums to their website or purposely leaks them to Limewire, Napster, etc. a few months before they are scheduled to be released.  Their thinking is . . . get people interested in our music and then make our money on live shows, ticket, and merchandise sales. 

Some Jeff Tweedy (lead singer of Wilco) quotes:

"Treating your audience like thieves is absurd. Anyone who chooses to listen to our music becomes a collaborator. People who look at music as commerce don't understand that. They are talking about pieces of plastic they want to sell, packages of intellectual property. I'm not interested in selling pieces of plastic."

"A piece of art is not a loaf of bread. When someone steals a loaf of bread from the store, that's it. The loaf of bread is gone. When someone downloads a piece of music, it's just data until the listener puts that music back together with their own ears, their mind, their subjective experience. How they perceive your work changes your work."

From a NYT article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/09/arts/music/09nypl.html?ex=1270699200&en=7a6d2e24e7faf2eb&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

"Tweedy, who has never been much for rock convention, became a convert to Internet peer-to-peer sharing of music files in 2001, after his band was dropped from its label on the cusp of a tour. Initially, the news left Wilco at the sum end of the standard rock equation: no record/no tour, no tour/no money, no money/no band. But Mr. Tweedy released "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" for streaming on the band's Web site, and fans responded in droves. Wilco then took on the expenses of its tour as a band.

The resulting concerts were a huge success: Mr. Tweedy remembered watching in wonder as fans sang along with music that did not exist in CD form. Then something really funny happened. Nonesuch Records decided to release the actual plastic artifact in 2002. And where the band's previous album, "Summerteeth," sold 20,000 in its first week according to SoundScan, "Yankee" sold 57,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell more than 500,000. Downloading, at least for Wilco, created rather than diminished the appetite for the corporeal version of the work."



Another article:

Wilco Unfazed By Early Album Leak
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003556600


March 09, 2007, 5:40 PM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
In what is becoming something of an unfortunate tradition, Wilco's new Nonesuch album, "Sky Blue Sky," has leaked online, more than two months prior to its May 15 release date.

The group's 2002 album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was online for nine months before it was eventually released in stores, and 2004's "A Ghost Is Born" also hit the Internet well before street date. In the latter instance, Wilco fan site Justafan.org asked fans who had downloaded the album early to donate money to Doctors Without Borders, a fund which eventually grew to $15,000.

"There's probably some good argument to be made that it will prevent a few people from buying the record," Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy told Billboard yesterday (March at the band's Chicago loft. "But there's also the idea that I believe is true for us, which is, it's people listening to our music."

"We feel very proud of our record and we want people to hear it. Ultimately, that's the goal," he continued. "I think most people will do the right thing and support us and buy the record, even if they have downloaded it."

"Frankly, I would like to have people get a head start on knowing the material before we come to whatever town they live in," bassist John Stirratt added with a laugh.


To stem the tide, the group will stream "Sky Blue Sky" from 9 a.m to 9 p.m. ET this Sunday (March 11) on its official Web site.

"We've always viewed the whole thing as similar to radio," Wilco manager Tony Margherita tells Billboard. "We were prepared for it to leak as soon as the first advance CD went out. That's just part and parcel of the deal. As with previous records, our plan was and is to give people another way to hear the record besides the download, since these often sound like crap and are a pain in the ass for people who don't have a lot of time or are not super tech-savvy."

Wilco will get busy on the road beginning April 16 in Brisbane, Australia.

[Friday]

Now Trent Reznor's doing it, too: 

http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/news/article/0,,4460579,00.html

Now that he's officially a free agent after years of sparring with Interscope and TVT, Trent Reznor has already emerged with a new project: the production side of Saul Williams' third full-length, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! Due out this Thursday (take that standardized release dates!) through The FADER Label, the album is now available for pre-order on niggytardust.com.

Interested? The site outlines two options: Hit the $5 button to "directly support the artists involved in the creation of this music" (and get higher-quality MP3s), or go the cheapskate route because you're "not concerned about that" and "just want the music." No pressure. Anyway, the latter is restricted to a 192Kbps rip, which is higher than In Rainbows but by no means audiophile quality. As for anyone that still appreciates album art and lyrics, don't panic. Both digital versions include a PDF of virtual liner notes.

"Working on this project was a real pleasure," Reznor said in a statement. "Saul was interested in breaking boundaries, crossing genres and defying expectations and we learned a great deal from one another in the process. After my own recent dealings with record labels we decided to release it directly to the fans. There are obvious similarities in how Radiohead just released their new record and the way we've chosen to. After thinking about this way too much, I feel we've improved upon their idea in a few profound ways that benefit the consumer."

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!

1. Black History Month
2. Convict Colony
3. Tr(n)igger
4. Sunday Bloody Sunday
5. Break
6. NiggyTardust
7. DNA
8. WTF!
9. Scared Money
10. Raw
11. Skin of a Drum
12. No One Ever Does
13. Banged and Blown Through
14. Raised to be Lowered
15. The Ritual

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
10.30.07