The internet blew-the-fuck-up last night when The Radio Headz announced their new album, In Rainbows, was being released not only as a special box set in December, but also digitally (DRM-free) in just 10 days. The "discbox" ain't too cheap (though, given the context and what you get, $81.90 or whatever ain't bad), but the price of the digital download? UP TO THE CONSUMER. Equally shocking was the announcement that the album was being self-released. It hasn't even been a full day yet, and the resulting debates over the future of the music industry and Radiohead's "revolutionizing" commercial approach are lengthy enough to fill a book (probably a crap book, but a book nonetheless).
But Radiohead may not have fully exited the incestuous, pornographic circus that is the music industry after all. According to a spokesperson, "Radiohead are currently planning a traditional CD release of In Rainbows for early 2008." No label (if any) or specifics have been announced -- Billboard reports that EMI are believed to be still "in the running" -- but if a "traditional release" of In Rainbows means using a "traditional" distribution method and/or using a label to release it, then perhaps Radiohead are not necessarily trying to fuck with the music industry so much as provide options for their fans, who by now are so richly varied that it takes multiple formats and marketing approaches to cater to them all.
So: while the distribution plans are still "revolutionary" (not to mention the pricing), the political implications of yesterday's announcement is still up for debate.
But what about their chart eligibility? Oh NME, you're so cute.
