Major change in the music industry

[Village Idiot]

I like Radiohead's model:

* Take over distribution themselves

* Make available CD quality (hopefully better one day) downloads at a reasonable price so people are more likely to 'choose' to support the artist

* Offer a physical product (LP) that has unique qualities (beautifully presented, limited editions, artwork etc) that make you want to own a hard copy. My copy of In Rainbows is worth more than when I bought it, not that it will ever be for sale

* Various other efforts such as choosing what you are prepared to pay, 'lending' you use of the music till you are ready to buy etc.

Some music industry bigwigs probably think they are mad, but Radiohead realise you have to offer something like this or people will simply take the illegal download option.

I'll probably never buy any digital music ever again, but I expect to buy plenty of vinyl.

[PeterCee]

Interesting silence from the normally vocal majority on this thread.

Is there no one without sin out there who can cast the first stone on behalf of the White Hat's ?

Blimey - things are worse than I thought.

[Jim Collinson Linn Staff]

(2011-02-28 00:58)Village Idiot Wrote:  I like Radiohead's model:

* Take over distribution themselves

* Make available CD quality (hopefully better one day) downloads at a reasonable price so people are more likely to 'choose' to support the artist

* Offer a physical product (LP) that has unique qualities (beautifully presented, limited editions, artwork etc) that make you want to own a hard copy. My copy of In Rainbows is worth more than when I bought it, not that it will ever be for sale

* Various other efforts such as choosing what you are prepared to pay, 'lending' you use of the music till you are ready to buy etc.

Some music industry bigwigs probably think they are mad, but Radiohead realise you have to offer something like this or people will simply take the illegal download option.

I'll probably never buy any digital music ever again, but I expect to buy plenty of vinyl.

Hi,

Bands have been doing this for many years in fact.

What struck me about Radiohead's latest model is actually how conventional it is. I find it surprising that it is getting so much press coverage (the business model that is, not the album, which is excellent as always), and most of the coverage it is getting is really missing the most interesting point...

The really brave move from Radiohead was for 'In Rainbows' with the "name your price" model. But the signals coming from this offer are that they have felt the pinch on free and/or illegal downloads, so want to capitalise as much as they can up-front by selling pre-order downloads which are distributed on the day of release and ahead of any previews etc.

Actually I was a little disappointed that they didn't do anything more exciting with it.

It should also be noted that they haven't taken over distribution themselves: there will still be mainstream release through a traditional label, they have just decided to make the first tranche of sales direct, which is quite sensible, but pretty standard fare.

The artwork and packaging for the vinyl looks exceptional as we have come to expect from Radiohead, but from the change in proposition from as a whole it can be interpreted that 'In Rainbows' was:

- Intended as customer acquisition / consolidation exercise all along
- As profit making exercise it was a bit of a failure and they are now back pedaling
- An experiment / fact find for a new model that they have learned wouldn't work for this release
- Part of the art itself

Always interesting to see what Radiohead are up to - it's a band I love dearly - but as far as 'The King of Limbs' release goes, radical it was not.

Jim - Linn Records

[Village Idiot]

(2011-03-01 15:12)Jim C Wrote:  Always interesting to see what Radiohead are up to - it's a band I love dearly - but radical it was not.

Jim - Linn Records

Hi Jim, yes didn't mean to imply it was unique, just possibly the highest profile example.

Hope the In Rainbows exercise wasn't as cynical as you suspect.

[Jim Collinson Linn Staff]

(2011-03-01 16:21)Village Idiot Wrote:  

(2011-03-01 15:12)Jim C Wrote:  Always interesting to see what Radiohead are up to - it's a band I love dearly - but radical it was not.

Jim - Linn Records

Hi Jim, yes didn't mean to imply it was unique, just possibly the highest profile example.

Hope the In Rainbows exercise wasn't as cynical as you suspect.

I certainly don't think it was cynical - I think it was brave, exciting, admirable (everything I'd expect from Radiohead) and I'm certain it did the band the power of good. (I downloaded it and elected to pay nothing, then bought the CD a few weeks later).

It was referred to in the industry as "The Radiohead Model" for a long time, still is, and even gets cited in contracts. It generally gave us all a shake - was a real call to action - and started a lot of change. Most definitely a groundbreaking exercise.

But as a sustainable business model though, even for a band the size of Radiohead, it raises some questions. One in particular: Why didn't they repeat the exercise for 'The King of Limbs'?

One thing it probably does say though, which is the most obvious truth, is that the quality of the music and its relevance to those listening matters above all else.

Jim - Linn Records

[Village Idiot]

(2011-03-01 14:02)PeterCee Wrote:  Is there no one without sin out there who can cast the first stone on behalf of the White Hat's ?

33rd degreee Scottish Rite Mason?

You'll have to educate me - never heard this term before!

[PeterCee]

Sorry.

White Hats - those using fully legal methods.

Black Hats - those using illegal methods.

It's some sort of internet thing - not sure of the derivation - or even if my use is strictly correct.

[Voidoid]

(2011-02-03 19:22)Briain Wrote:  Maybe they think that all this new-fangled rock and roll music is just a brief passing phase and that all this Internet stuff will maybe just 'go away' if they stick their heads deep enough into the sand; someone please buy these poor guys a snorkel.

Bri

No, please don't.

[ernfisch]

(2011-03-02 06:22)PeterCee Wrote:  Sorry.

White Hats - those using fully legal methods.

Black Hats - those using illegal methods.

It's some sort of internet thing - not sure of the derivation - or even if my use is strictly correct.

It comes from 1920s - 30s cowboy movies. The good guys usually wore white hats and the bad guys black hats, or at least dark hats.

Those of us old enough to have actually watched these movies, usually on Saturday afternoon, knew what you meant.

[MnM]

Ah - nice. These days it refers to hackers - white hats find security loopholes so that they can be fixed, black hats exploit them.