Released Online Today The new Radiohead album In Rainbows is released online today (is it still really an album?). Radiohead have gone against the grain with this one in that they are allowing fans to set their own price for it. That’s right, if you want to pay ZERO for it then that’s ok. My guess is that many fans will pay something for it as their fans are dedicated to their music (and that’s what Radiohead is hoping for too) . Right now I’ve been reading that the site has been crashing due to the huge volume. I’ve tried to get there myself and it does take a long time to get to the first page. Perhaps you should try in a few days if you plan to download the album.
Will It Work This is an interesting experiment for both the band and the music industry. Radiohead have built up quite a following. Music labels will be watching this closely as this could be the future of record releases, though I can only imagine this being done by artists who already have a huge following and can shrug off major label influence.
How Much To Pay But what is it worth? Ian Youngs at BBC News gives a quick review here. He seems to feel that Radiohead are in a rut since the album is close in feel to Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail To The Thief. I take his review with a grain of salt since his favorite Radiohead album is Pablo Honey, their first. Personally I loved their last album so if In Rainbows is like Hail To The Thief then I’ll be happy.
Let me know what you think of both their option to pay as you please and your comments on the album itself.
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Man, it sees like yesterday Radiohead did this. Now it has almost been a year and a half!! Crazy!!
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