Radiohead: A Revolutionary Marketing Approach
NEIRAD enilno edition
Radiohead is one of the hottest bands out there with the release of “In Rainbows.” Radiohead has always been an extremely inventive band. Recently, they have also begun to revolutionize the way music is sold. With the release of “In Rainbows,” there has been a lot of questions about how to purchase their music.
Before the album came out on CD it was made available on Radiohead’s website where the fans could download the CD for whatever price they chose. This distribution method was an extremely risky idea, but for a band like Radiohead it was a revolutionary marketing strategy. Guitarist Johnny Greenwood commented in Billboard magazine saying, “We let people ask themselves how much music is really worth?” The idea of releasing the album online without a set price was prompted by illegal music pirating: a practice that occurs with virtually all big album releases. Radiohead realized their music was going to be illegally downloaded. The alternative was this method of an early release to at least earn some money and to see whether they would make even more cash through this unique sales approach. The band has not released its figures for the online distribution, so the profit margin is still a mystery. However, the rough average of how much money people paid for the online download was between $8 and $9.
The impact of Radiohead using a pro bon online distribution method is huge for the music community and many bands will probably follow in their footsteps. It is the first real step against illegal downloading; it also is making fans really think about how much they love music. Radiohead sees every cent as a gift because it’s another person not booting up LimeWire searching for “In Rainbows.” There was controversy with releasing the CD but in the end everybody would rather have a hard copy of the actual album to collect or just get more of a connection to the band.
Radiohead does not have a record label. They did not continue their contract with Capitol Records. Thom Yorke, the front man, did not like how controlled he felt with records like “Pablo Honey” and wanted more musical freedom and to feel more comfortable making music. Even without the backing of a record label, Radiohead is having continued success and is making it obvious that record companies are becoming an increasingly dated business.
Radiohead is touring Europe and will hopefully come to America soon. Radiohead has led the charge towards independent music making and has been holding strong since 1986. The sound of “In Rainbows” is a lot less poppy than some of their other releases such as “Kid A” and “Amnesiac.” The faded guitars and orchestral strings create a new sound for the group. They ditched a lot of the electronic crap and turned in the opposite direction to depict their thoughts about the madness of the world.
“In Rainbows” is now in stores retailing for around $11. So buy a copy and be enlightened by one of the most creative bands to ever hold instruments.
