Phew, that was a long sentence. Anyway.
The best part about this, is that you get to choose exactly how much money (or how many monies) you want to pay for the album. But I assume you already knew about this, as well. Yes, you can even get it for free. No, you shouldn't, though. And if you did, it does not make you cool, no matter how much you think so.
I finally managed to buy the album today, but I haven't gotten the chance to listen to it carefully yet, I do like it so far though, my favorite song being "Bodysnatchers". At this point, I should also confess that I am not the biggest Radiohead fan around, as a matter of fact, this is the first album of theirs I've ever bought. When somebody tries to do something so radically different, though, I believe we all have to support it as best we can.
For the curious people out there, yes I did pay for it. How much? Less than the special edition's cost (40 English pounds, coming out on December 3rd), more than what a bootleg copy would cost. Happy now?
Regardless of that, I do hope that Radiohead's decision to promote their album on their own, without the influence of their company, could become the starting point for a whole new era in music. After all, Madonna had already left her big-name publishing company as well, and The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince distributed his last album through a Sunday newspaper in the U.K. However, both these artists have been around for a long while, and their careers have been in decline for a while now (Prince's more than Madonna's, obviously.)
Still, it's a common secret a music artist's main source of income comes from live performances, not record sales, as the publishers take most of those. And how did the last performance of Prince in the U.K. go, you ask? It was sold out. And Madonna's tour was her most successful yet.
What does that all mean, though? For me, it means that there's the blind hope that after almost a decade where hardcore marketing-type people dictated what music we listened to, what movies we saw and what kind of games we played, this fad may finally be nearing its end. I may be a bit too idealistic, but I feel that moves such as Radiohead selling their album for whatever amount their customers are willing to pay, may mean that artists will be able to reclaim control over their work again, beforelong.
As I said, I may be a bit too idealistic in my assessment this. But after so many years in which music, art in general I'd say, had to conform to certain strict standards in order to be commercially successful, I am really glad to see such a bold move from a well-known band.
Certainly, cynics have a lot to downplay this for, but you know what? Fuck cynicism. There's too much of it around already. Just enjoy your almost-free album, suckers.
Anyway, I'd like to end this post on a more positive note, so I'll just post an image of the cover for In Rainbows, which I find very beautiful in its simplicity, as it reminds me of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon in a way.
Wait, how did Stephen Colbert get in there? That guy is omnipresent, I swear.
P.S
A good read on the impact that In Rainbows could have to the music industry can be found here. The author concludes that "Unfortunately for the music labels, that change would only decrease their relevance and mechanisms to make money."
Boo-fracking-hoo, I say. Greedy bastards, the lot of them. Viva La Revolution, etc.
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