Last Updated: Monday, October 1, 2007 | 10:21 AM ET
CBC News

Innovative rock band Radiohead has stunned the music world by announcing that its forthcoming album will make its debut as a digital download available for whatever individual consumers want to pay for it.

Guitarist Jonny Greenwood announced on the band's website late Sunday night that the new album In Rainbows has been completed and would be released Oct. 10 online.

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, seen here performing at a music festival near Paris in 2006, has questioned the traditional music-industry sales model.

When pre-ordering the album through the website, the checkout screen returns the message: "It's up to you."

A subsequent message adds: "No really, it's up to you."

A physical version of the band's seventh album — a special edition featuring two discs as well as lyrics and artwork — will follow in December.

The critically acclaimed band fulfilled its contract with record label EMI with its previous album, 2003's Hail to the Thief.

In the past, despite being leaked onto the internet before their official release dates, Radiohead albums have still shot to the top of music charts.

Radiohead and its frontman, Thom Yorke, are among those in the recording industry who have questioned the traditional music model and the dominance of record labels.

Prince, for instance, has regularly given his music away for free in the past few years, with the U.S. pop, rock and funk icon employing unconventional distribution techniques like releasing tracks on his website first and handing out free copies of new albums to those attending his concerts.

Most recently, the American singer, composer and musician gave away thousands of his latest album 3121 through a British newspaper. While the move angered the record industry, his subsequent 21-day concert series in London attracted packed, enthusiastic audiences.
[Edited 10/1/07 8:47am]

smart. manipulate the leak of the new album, get the fans on your side, and maybe make a wee bit of coin before the music hits retail, then have the extra incentive of a bonus disc to bring everyone back. i think it's a fantastic plan. i think more artists should manipulate the reality of online leaks to their advantage rather than trying to rail against something they ultimately have no way of controlling.

oh and...

Regardless of how all this works out, we'll have new Radiohead next week!
Man, new Meshell and now this!

Damn, has it been four freakin years!

Oh, !!!!!

Anxiety said:

I dont know anything about them, but this is one very very smart plan

There is no album I can think of that gets me this excited.. I can't wait for new radiohead..

HURRRRRAAAAAH


fuck yes!

Anxiety said:

Somehow I anticipate a leak before their official leak




I gotta take a leak

Sdldawn said:

Ima act like a crazy Kanye hater and ask, what is so special abotu them?

I dont kow wnaything about Radiohead, but I kinda want to know just cuz Im a music buff

paisleypark4 said:

I would say download the Ok Computer album.. its been noted as a "best album of all time" type many times.. (although thats debatable)

that seems to be their shining moment.. then again, people like me enjoy the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions the most.

Here is an allmusic review of OK Computer (5 of 5 stars)

Using the textured soundscapes of The Bends as a launching pad, Radiohead delivered another startlingly accomplished set of modern guitar rock with OK Computer. The anthemic guitar heroics present on Pablo Honey and even The Bends are nowhere to be heard here. Radiohead have stripped away many of the obvious elements of guitar rock, creating music that is subtle and textured yet still has the feeling of rock & roll. Even at its most adventurous -- such as the complex, multi-segmented "Paranoid Android" -- the band is tight, melodic, and muscular, and Thom Yorke's voice effortlessly shifts from a sweet falsetto to vicious snarls. It's a thoroughly astonishing demonstration of musical virtuosity and becomes even more impressive with repeated listens, which reveal subtleties like electronica rhythms, eerie keyboards, odd time signatures, and complex syncopations. Yet all of this would simply be showmanship if the songs weren't strong in themselves, and OK Computer is filled with moody masterpieces, from the shimmering "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and the sighing "Karma Police" to the gothic crawl of "Exit Music (For a Film)." OK Computer is the album that establishes Radiohead as one of the most inventive and rewarding guitar rock bands of the '90s.

This is a highly debatable topic, but it was voted by something at one point for being the greatest album of all time.. whether or not one believes that, it would be hard to call this a bad record.. its solid as a rock

-----


Radiohead's 'Ok Computer' has been voted the greatest album of all time.

The British rockers were awarded the prestigious title after topping a poll conducted by British TV station Channel Four to find music lovers' favourite records.

Radiohead, fronted by Thom Yorke, beat off stiff competition from a whole host of critically acclaimed artists including U2, The Beatles, Queen and Oasis to claim the top spot.

The 1997 album, which was a worldwide hit, was closely followed in second place by 'The Joshua Tree' by U2, Nirvana's 'Nevermind' came third, while Michael Jackson's pop masterpiece 'Thriller' - which spawned an incredible seven hit singles - was voted into fourth position.

Other entries in the top ten included 'Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd, which came fifth, Oasis' debut album 'Definitely Maybe', which finished in sixth position, while The Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and 'Revolver' came seventh and tenth respectively making them the only band to have two entries in the top ten.

Radiohead's victory was applauded by a whole host of musicians The Smiths former guitarist Johnny Marr hailed 'OK Computer' as a "landmark record" while REM singer Michael Stipe described the album as a "classic, brilliant record."
[Edited 10/2/07 18:35pm]

yeah OK Computer is the album i keep seeing EVERYWHERE..like it wants me like Uncle Sam....I will pick it up along with that Red Hot Chii probably this month sometime

paisleypark4 said:

I would suggest, if you are familiar with and like ,Bjork (musically), try Kid A. That's the album that hooked me. Be sure you dig electronic stuff before diving in.
Or try their last album Hail To The Thief. This album is a good overall sampler of musical styles that Radiohead has done through the years but on one album.
I turned a musician friend of mine on to Hail first. Now he can't get enough RH and has since got all their stuff.
Go to your local library. I'm sure they'll have most of their stuff.
OK Computer is a classic, but it took me getting into their other albums first before I could get into that one.

Anxiety said:

I agree. Very clever.

OK, I went to the site and am kind of confused how it works. how do you choose what you want to buy in the downloads selection?

Sdldawn said:

I think you, CarrieMPLS and I might be the biggest Radiohead fans on this board.

ThreadBare said:

You better add me to the damn Band. I LOVE them

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

during my apartment-dwelling days, I'd record my songs' vocals very quietly. A coworker of mine at the time heard a song of mine and said, "You sound like Thom Yorke. "

ThreadBare said:

!!!!!

Bfunkthe1 said:

it's like get Pueple Rain before Sign O The Times right

I love electronic music..maybe Kid A is a good start?

paisleypark4 said:

Sort of. Like I said, if you dig Bjork, musically not vocally, I think you should get Kid A first. Then if you dig that, you can go backwards and forwards with their releases and see which you like.
Kid A has always been my fav. And keep in mind, Amnesiac was recorded during the same sessions so they're like sister albums. Kid A being slightly better. IMO.
Very electronic, very ambient, very chill, very good.

paisleypark4 said:

hmmm.. i would say try ok computer first.. The Quality of the album is above average. Kid A is one of my all time favorite albums ever.. but I always wondered how much I would have appreciated it if I wouldn't have started with OK Computer...

Sdldawn said:

Actually, it wasn't until I heard KidA that I was able to revisit OK Computer. Until such time, I had written that album off Just wasn't ready I guess.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I guess that's what I was saying in my other post.
I had heard OK Computer at the time of it's release bit it didn't connect with me then. It took the brillance of Kid A to kinda open my eyes to RH and then eventually OK Computer.
I think if I had really dug OKC first, Kid A may have been somewhat of a letdown because of the somewhat drastic change in sound. I dunno. Don't matter how I got "it" because I did and now RH is one of my top bands and...we'll have NEW music next week.

I also think it's a very wise maneuver.

And in general I think digital music is worth between 50 and 99 cents a track. At that price I believe that a vast majority of people will be tempted off licking that particular leak.

Of course you have to also make it fairly easy to acquire, not just affordable.

But, having said that, metaphorically a masterpiece is priceless and something that you'll almost never listen to is always too expensive.

So since I haven't heard it yet, and even though it's Radiohead, I'll gladly pay this range upfront.

http://www.cnn.com/video/...ad.dem.cnn

CNN on it!

Tim Armstrong did something like this with his solo album. He started out releasing it free for download, one track at a time, but later released it as real album.....with a video for every track. That that Beyonce!