In what might be the most shocking announcement to the record industry all year, Radiohead announced earlier this week that their seventh studio album, entitled In Rainbows, will be released in a DRM-free digital format on October 10th (yes, of this year. Yes. that means next Wednesday), with a special edition containing bonus vinyls and a hardcover book available for a staggering $80. But that's not the coolest part.
Radiohead is allowing fans to name their own price for the digital version of the album. Save for a nominal administration charge (just under a dollar), fans could choose to pay nothing, or the full price for a normal album. Here's hoping the rest of the music world is taking notes. Not that I think that every piece of music from here on out should be released on a "donations welcome" basis, but I think allowing fans to decide how much they want the music is a brilliant move.
Which leads me to a dilemma; being at best a casual Radiohead fan, how much do I want to pay for the album? To completely blow this off seems wrong and would discourage future artists to listen to what their fans say regarding the future of the industry. But at the same time, Radiohead has always struck me as being kind of trippy and out in left field...not exactly my ideal type of music. So what's a fair price for 15 mp3s of a band I'm not a huge fan of? 5 bucks? 8? 10? Any thoughts you have on this one are appreciated.
No official release date for a traditional CD has been revealed for In Rainbows; word of a Dec. 3 release date were denied by band reps earlier today.
That's enough for now. I'll be back later this week with other stuff, including a review of the leaked Jimmy Eat World album.
Radiohead official website
HMV Errs on Radiohead release date, label [Billboard.biz]
==TJ==
Thursday, October 4, 2007
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