Radiohead goes indie with new album
British rockers let fans pick the price of In Rainbows release

Kate Lanza | staff writer
klanza@smcvt.edu

On Oct. 10, British rock group Radiohead released its new album, In Rainbows, exclusively through its Web site.  Instead of purchasing the new album on iTunes or at a record store for a fixed price, the consumers are able to purchase In Rainbows in exchange for a “donation” to the band of any amount they choose. 

Don’t leave me "high and dry"

Single songs downloaded on iTunes usually cost $0.99 and an album is typically $9.99. However, Radiohead endorses its album online through its Web site as long as the listener gives a donation of any price. The donations will be the equivalent of the British Sterling in pounds and pence.

Radiohead lead singer Tom Yorke covered in chocolate.

Meredith DiMenna, president of Exotic Recordings in Bridgeport, Conn., says that Radiohead is uniquely positioned to do something like this because of its success and loyal fan base.  As the owner of an independent record label, DiMenna says she is familiar with the success of the band and knows that Radiohead is in a good position to sell its album online at a dynamic amount.

“They have a legitimate connection with their fans, and the fans don’t want to steal from bands they love,” DiMenna says.

Radiohead has received tremendous radio support, she says.

“They have gone from being an underground band to one of those internationally superstar bands,” DiMenna says.  “They don’t need corporations’ labels to back them.”

Consumers will pay for the music in some way, she says.  Prince, for example, gave away one of his albums for free with the cost of a concert ticket and gave back to his fans by doing what he does best, performing, DiMenna says. 

Record shops "get the bends"

There is an imaginable impact on the record label industries and record stores, says Michael Crandall, manager of Pure Pop, a record store in Burlington.  Radiohead is one of the bands that can probably get away with what it’s doing, but they might not have enough success as they are hoping for, he says.

Crandall says that Radiohead's new album is not on Pure Pop’s shelves right now, and he is trying not to be upset about it, he says.

“I guess it shoots everyone in the foot by saying ‘pay whatever price you want for our album,’” Crandall says.

After December, consumers will have the option of buying the album in stores or continuing to download.  Crandall says in a lot of cases it is better to have the physical value of something rather than the ‘perception’ of it.

St. Michael's fans "creep" around the price

Some students at St. Michael’s College have the misconception that the album has been released in stores in addition to online.  However, waiting to buy an album at the store has been completely cut out of the picture. 

Radiohead customers receive an activation code on the group's Web site to purchase In Rainbows. 

Guitarist Ed O'Brien of Radiohead performing in Blackpool, England.

St. Michael’s College sophomore Dan Purcell says he takes pride in the rock bands of the past because they inspired the modern bands.  Radiohead’s approach to releasing its album was smart and helpful in keeping up with today’s modern world, he says. 

"They’re just cutting the middlemen out,” Purcell says.

It may be a shorter way to get its music out and into the ears of the fans without having to go through the different companies, he says.

“I like that it’s really cheap. There’s a couple of good tracks on it, and if I don’t like it, I didn’t have to spend a lot on it to just hear it,” junior Ryan Astin says. 

Melenda Ryzik says in The New York Times column on Oct. 4, that Radiohead's dynamic album pricing of In Rainbows is a way for the fans to show their loyalty to Radiohead.

“Each donation is a sort of commentary: on the nature of fandom and band loyalty, on the indier-than-thou current rock scene, and on the worth of buying — not sampling or stealing — new music.”