Following up on Radiohead's experiment, and why Metallica SUCKS!

So I made a huge deal about Radiohead's last album being released on line. In Rainbows was a great work (which eerily lines up with OK Computer), but the band was pretty tight lipped about whether the digital download plan was a success.

A reader just sent in this BBC News article where U2's manager declares the experiment a failure:

The majority of fans who downloaded In Rainbows ignored the band's website and acquired it illegally by other means, Paul McGuinness told BBC 6 Music.

"Sixty to 70% of the people who downloaded the record stole it anyway, even though it was available for free."

U2's next album - due this year - would not follow the same approach, he added.

Ummm-Kay...
First off, I don't get how U2's manager gets to make this declaration. Even if the numbers are accurate, this perceived theft would probably have fallen in line with the number of people who would've downloaded the album for free any way. I know I had SERIOUS problems even accessing Radiohead's site the day the album went live.

Next the goodwill generated is completely incalculable. The spectacle of releasing a commercial work of this quality for free probably reached farther out than just Radiohead fans. I had quite a few friends who weren't Radiohead fans before, but enjoyed In Rainbows enough to check out their earlier work. I'm assuming there was a subtle "Napster effect" after In Rainbows release, with earlier albums experiencing a small sales bump.
Add that exposure to concert ticket sales, and sales of the hard copy of In Rainbows, and I think the download experiment has helped the band a lot more than some estimated loss of units sold could hurt it.
I found the last line of the BBC story telling:

The album went straight to number one in the UK and US when it became available on CD in January.

And speaking of "Napster effect" Metallica seems pretty resolute about continuing on their march to complete irrelevance.

Just after drumming up some buzz by embracing iTunes, and talking about trying their own NIN like download album release (making them the greatest flip-floppers of all time imho), they go and pull a stunt like this.
Ars is reporting on the bands inability to NOT piss off all of their fans who happen to use the web. First they invite music critics to review 6 tracks off their new album (I didn't even know there was another album in the works). Then they send the critics and bloggers off to write stories about those tracks. THEN the band's management threatens the bloggers who wrote reviews, and bullied them into taking those reviews down. Then the band makes an "official" statement on their website saying:

"Our response was 'WHY?!!! Why take down mostly positive reviews of the new material and prevent people from getting psyched about the next record... that makes no sense to us!'"

OK.

I stopped listening to Metallica after they embraced the litigious nature of the RIAA, and were brutally public about suing all of their fans. It was a sticky situation, and file sharing is stealing (not piracy though), but this was the wrong move to make. If they're played on the radio I change the station. The fact that they are considering following NIN and Radiohead, proves to me that their reputations (along with their album sales) have been damaged to the point where they need to eat some crow, make a magnanimous gesture. Great. Good for them.

This latest episode just shows that they still don't know what the crap they're doing with this whole intarweb thing.

I'll be adding them to my list of "no buy" along with Monster Cables and Creative sound cards...

Have you purchased your copy of Niggy Tardust yet? Why not?

I just slapped down my $5 for an FLAC copy, and I'm really enjoying it. Dark, edgy, I just really dig Reznor as a producer.

Saul Williams, a champion of DRM free content, brings a powerful performance to the table. At times vulnerable, at times invoking a raw, explosive energy that stabs you between the eyes, a Lenny Kravitz meets Jimmie Hendrix meets Seal...

on PCP...

The constant genre mashing can be a little exhausting, but in a good way. It's like the first time I heard Downward Spiral from beginning to end. I really felt like I had accomplished something. There are influences aplenty...

The cover of Bloody Sunday is a stand out single that really moved me, almost as much as when I heard the original. This track needs to be on the radio NOW. Another standout for me was the raw nakedness of No One Ever Does, a gorgeously simple/sweet ballad, amid the chaos/frenzy/hunger of the rest of the album.

There's just so much to hear in Reznor's mix, and in Williams' words, it's unlikely that I'll pull it off the ipod anytime soon.

Just like my posts on Radiohead's release of In Rainbows, this is another grand experiment. The album is being released for Free (MP3 @ 192Kbps) or for $5 (FLAC or 320Kbps MP3). So far the numbers are ... interesting? Out of 150,000 downloads almost 30,000 have paid for it. That's one in five, 20%. Is that success? No one really knows yet...

Ars Technica has a pretty good write up explaining the details behind the distribution, and Reznor himself offers up a fairly in depth look at the experiment so far.

You can download the album here.

It's not quite Wizard of Oz and Dark Side...

You should head over to Puddlegum right now if you've been following the In Rainbows release. Apparently there's more to the album than originally thought...

Consider that In Rainbows was meant to complement OK Computer, musically, lyrically, and in structure. We found that the two albums can be knit together beautifully. By combining the tracks to form one playlist, 01 and 10, we have a remarkable listening experience. The transitions between the songs are astounding, and it appears that this was done purposefully.

The lyrics also seem to complement each other. There appears to be a concept flowing through the 01 and 10 playlist. Ideas in one song is picked up by the next, such as “Pull me out of the aircrash,” and “When I’m at the pearly gates, this will be my videotape.”

I'm trying it out now (alternating tracks between OK Computer and In Rainbows), and it does seem to work pretty well. As if I needed another reason to break out my Radiohead collection...

Read the whole article here. It's pretty crazy...


***EDIT***

Just caught this over at the Mortigi Tempo Forums from poster Limnophilia:

As Penny pointed out in

http://www.mortigitempo.com/too_bore...ad.php?t=67000

the album title can be heard in the backing vocals of Reckoner.

BUT, did anyone notice the

IN RAAAAAAAIN
IN RAAAAAAAIN
IN RAAAAAAAINNNNN IN RAAAAAAAIN
IN RAAAAAAAINBOWS

starts precisely at the albums golden section??? I've got fucking chills; can anyone concur?

The Golden Section, Golden Ratio, whatever you want to call it is appears at 1/1.618, or about 61.8% of a way through of a work of art. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

In Rainbows is 42m 34s, or 2554 seconds long. 2554/1.618 is the 1578th or so second of the album, which is 2m49s into Reckoner, precisely when the strings come in with the album title.

I can't believe that is coincidental...can anyone confirm?

Whoa... Chills...
Maybe I SHOULD find my copy of the Wizard of Oz...

In Rainbows...

It's been a shit day. Truly. At least I've finally gotten my hands on a copy of In Rainbows.

I'm kind of a casual fan of Radiohead. They find regular rotation on the iPod, but it's always an "oh right I should put them on" kind of reaction, never a first impulse kind of thing. That and they've never been a background noise kinda band for me. Like 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' or 'i robot' or 'Dark Side of the Moon' I put on Radiohead when I want to LISTEN to music. Unfortunately it seems like I get less and less time to just listen, so that chunk of my collection gets less and less play time. Prolly getting moldy...

So far this is a great Radiohead album. If you're not a fan, then it wont do anything for you, but if you are I'd say it's right up there with Kid A.
15 Step and Bodysnatchers lead off some great beat deconstruction, and showcase just how good this group is at creating mellow yet totally schizophrenic rhythms. I especially like the reaffirming tone of 15 Step. It feels like a re-dedication...
Nude's minstrel-like qualities are refreshing, intimate, and I was glad the piece didn't get too maudlin or sappy.
Can't say I'm loving Weird Fishes. It's plinky, light, and while it builds into a great run at the end, it feels like too long for too little...
I have to say that All I Need kinda took me by surprise. The dark plodding ring mod rhythm left me unprepared for the lyrical vulnerability. It's not quite Creep, but it's close...
Faust Arp is disgustingly gorgeous. I'm such a sucker for strings and acoustic guitar (like the second disc of 'In Your Honor').They always catch me right between the lungs...
Reckoner reminds me a little of the Beta Band. I love that! The kind of song that makes me wish it rained more in L.A. I'd say more, but I'm too busy closing my eyes...
House of Cards is kinda meh for me. It makes me want to fire up the Johnny Nash 'I Can see Clearly'. It's not a bad song, but it just doesn't go anywhere for me. One of the few times where mating their mellow and intimate tone to a fairly quick back beat just doesn't appeal...
Jigsaw Falling Into Place had me bobbing my head right from the get go. A little touch of Depeche Mode and the Violent Femmes.
Videotape is haunting and pretty and tragic. Blue Man Group's 'Exhibit 13' comes to mind...



So what is all this? What's the point? Is this as groundbreaking or revolutionary as OK Computer?
Yes and No.
I can't say the music is. I can get lost in OK Computer, and In Rainbows just doesn't open my eyes as much.
What is very exciting though is this is an extremely polished and competent work from a group on top of their game. This isn't after-thought music. This isn't a collection of random recordings or crappy B-Sides. This isn't an "experiment". It's real, a real album, and the way it's being distributed is earth-shaking.


It's a scary day for the record labels...


WOw, so if you read all that, then gawdblessya, cuz I really have no business reviewing music...

More Bands Following Radioheads Example

So of course there's the NIN announcement, but the Telegraph is reporting on even more groups wading in after Radiohead (you should actually be downloading their new album now instead of reading this, unless you're reading this while WAITING to download their new album). For me, this is probably the most exciting development in distribution since the original Napster debuted.

Oasis has already announced that its next single, Lord Don’t Slow Me
Down, will be available only to download for 99 pence. Meanwhile
rumours abound that Madness, a band with a loyal fanbase amongst
40-somethings, is considering giving away its next album for free.

MADNESS?!?!?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?
ONE STEP BEYOND?!?!?!
I'M SO THERE!!!


*ahem*

Labels are going to have to get savvy PDQ, or they'll be going away.

And right now, I can't really say they'd be missed...

READ THE REST @ TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

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In Rainbows is up for Download!

Well sorta anyway...

I'm currently watching the little firefox spinning thingy just twirl away as the page wont load. I can only assume that every tech savvy music fan on the web is hitting this poor little server all at once.

In the time it's taken me to type this out I've made NO progress on loading the page. None.

As soon as I can get my hands on it I'll write about (for 7 of you who care what I think), but I'll tell ya, the anticipation is killing me. Early reviews are praising this album.

Such an awesome experiment, even if you aren't a Radiohead fan, I still recommend you go and check the album out.


DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM HERE

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'Hands tells EMI staff to "WAKE UP"'

Sent to me from Mrs. Audio Guy (thanks Hon)!

Story out of Variety, apparently Guy Hands (chairman of Terra Firma, the new owners of EMI) is telling his staff to wake up and get with!

Following the developments of iTunes, P2P, and most recently Radiohead's decision to forgo traditional studio support in releasing it's latest album (and asking fans to only pay what they think it's worth), Hands appears ready to turn the entire music industry on it's ear.

Hands wrote: "Rather than embracing digitalization and the
opportunities it brings for promotion of product and distribution
through multiple channels, the industry has stuck its head in the sand."
The Terra Firma boss believes that other EMI acts and their managers will
be following the Radiohead initiative closely to see whether such a
business model can earn musicians more money than following the
traditional record company route.
"Why should (established acts) subsidize their label's new talent roster — or for that matter their record company's excessive expenditures and advances?" Hands said in his memo.

This is very encouraging. It's one thing to have peripheral acts like The Bare Naked Ladies and The Grateful Dead supporting radical distribution of music, but to have the head of a major label practically daring the rest of the music industry (and challenging their mistakes) is down right awesome. Between this and their stance on DRM, EMI is shaping up to be the most forward thinking label in music.

The formal distribution of music can not become a free service or a loss leader. If there's no incentive to craft an album, if artists can not benefit from the distribution of their content, then we'll be headed for a musical dark ages.

READ THE REST HERE @ VARIETY

Heh-heh, turn the industry on it's "ear" ...