I wouldn\’t have instantly thought to use the word \’groundbreaking\’ to describe the upcoming new release from Radiohead. For my tastes, they peaked somewhere in between Kid A and Amnesiac. Then again, I sounded the death knell on Pearl Jam a while back, and then their last album went ahead and was pretty decent, so who knows.
Still, this is groundbreaking. And I\’m all for it.
Come next Wednesday we\’ll all be able to go out to the internets and download the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, and when it\’s time to pay up for the privilege we\’ll be presented with the statement: \”it\’s up to you\”. Pay as much or as little as you like. Or pay nothing. If this doesn\’t speak to the fact that bands generally get screwed on album deals with record companies, I don\’t know what does.
I\’ll be very interested to see what the fallout is from this. Will other established bands follow suit? How much money will Radiohead make on the honor system? Will I be able to download first and then pay if I like what I hear? Regardless, I hope this is the start of a trend.
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