Radiohead: Tips on How to Not Sell Your Soul

I just read an article in the Sunday NYT by Jon Pareles, a great music writer. He interviewed Radiohead about their groundbreaking decision to not only sell their new album, InRainbows, online for any price the buyer wanted, but to remain independent and not sign to any major label.

In a world that lives by the initials C.R.E.A.M. (Wu-Tang's song and mantra: Cash Rules Everything Around Me), the article with one of the best bands on the planet was a breath of fresh air.

Here is some of the piece:

On why they didn't re-sign with EMI records:

“It was tough to do anything else,” Mr. Yorke said during Radiohead’s first extensive interviews since the release of the album. “The worst-case scenario would have been: Sign another deal, take a load of money, and then have the machinery waiting semi-patiently for you to deliver your product, which they can add to the list of products that make up the myth, la-la-la-la.”

A great quote from another music revolutionary:

“Money makes you numb, as M.I.A. wrote. I mean, it’s tempting to have someone say to you, ‘You will never have to worry about money ever again,’ but no matter how much money someone gives you — what, you’re not going to spend it? You’re not going to find stupid ways to get rid of it? Of course you are. It’s like building roads and expecting there to be less traffic.”

On the success of their decision:

And Radiohead was able to draw worldwide attention to “In Rainbows” with no more promotion than a modest 24-word announcement on its Web site on Oct. 1. To the band’s glee, it could release its music almost immediately, without the months of lead time necessary to manufacture discs. Mr. Hufford said “In Rainbows” has been downloaded in places as far-flung — and largely unwired — as North Korea and Afghanistan.

Radiohead Rips the System!

This post is also on my blog, Brand New Day, but here at SG, I guarantee many more will be reading.

Oct 10. That is the date that fans of the most innovative mainstream band in the world, Radiohead, will have the opportunity to get their first listen to In Rainbows, the newest album by the British rockers. But only through the Internet. Thom Yorke and his band have decided to digitally release the entire album first on their official website, http://inrainbows.com/, instead of fighting to find a record label first. The physical copy will only be available in December. You can pre-order both at their site.
But that is not the biggest news, although that alone is groundbreaking. The real news is that the CD will be able to be downloaded for any price you want. That is correct. You go to the site, and put in how much you want to pay for the digital version, and they send it to you. Holy Socialism! As NPR put it yesterday, "Radiohead is circumventing the pricing system and the label system, in one fell swoop."
Change is coming.