Shake Your Money Maker

Understanding how In Rainbows will work

Let's talk Radiohead.

Not about their songs. The music on their new In Rainbows album is dealt with deeper in this issue of the magazine. No, right now we have to get everyone on-point as it relates to Radiohead As The Great Saviours/Destroyers Of Music As We Know It.

So let's start by everyone taking a deep breath and getting ready to deal…

Radiohead have not Hiroshima-ed the music universe. They simply have a very good plan in how they're going to make money off of In Rainbows.

The first and probably greatest achievement of their In Rainbows campaign has been their ability to monetize the inevitable online album trading. By releasing the album in October as a 160 kb, copy-protection-free, pay-what-you-want MP3 download, they've turned what was institutionalized thievery into something they'll see a cash return on. More importantly, Radiohead have forced a long forgotten dynamic back into the world of online music trading — conscience. If the band are now saying, "Hey, pay whatever you want for this album. We're cool with it," then the burden is now in the hands of the listener. How much do you value music? Are you cheap? Are you generous? Does being entertained by the In Rainbows download have genuine financial value to you? And if so, what's that value compared to going to see a movie, or watching a television show, or playing a video game?

Relatedly, it should be noted that Radiohead's people consider the pay-what-you-can plan merely the first salvo in a broader campaign. In an interview with U.K. trade magazine Music Week, Radiohead managers Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge explained that the pwyc introduction is just part of a larger marketing and promotional plan... to sell CDs.

"This," said Hufford, referring to the online sales and accompanying December release of a double-CD, and double-vinyl version of the album, "is for Radiohead fans; the masses probably won't even know about it. We think we have a
brilliant record that loads of people will like so we are going through the promo to start with and hopefully the word will spread and the masses will come on board."

The backside of this plan is that by the time January rolls around a normal CD version of In Rainbows will hit the Wal-Marts of the world. At press time, it appeared that deals would be made with ATO Records subsidiary Side One Recordings in the U.S. and XL Recordings in other countries. It's by no means the rebellious screw-you to the record man that zealous dorm room prophesizers would have you believe.

Bands like Radiohead didn't get where they are by the merits of their art alone. It's taken the support of literally hundreds of people and millions of dollars spent on them over multiple years for them to reach such a culturally exalted position. And if you think Thom Yorke is going to be the one personally boxing up new pieces of vinyl to FedEx down to Toronto's Rotate This, you're absolutely mad. No, Radiohead are smart enough to know that truly relevant artistic commerce involves a relationship where average folks can buy their disc. The only thing that's changed is that, as a band who no longer have a major label contract, they have more power to decide how, when and where they want people to experience that purchasing opportunity.

Hot on the heels of Radiohead's In Rainbows announcement, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, another post-major label free agent, declared he'll spend next year creating "a direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate." A third mega-name, Madonna, has signed with concert promotions company Live Nation, who'll get a chunk of all the money she makes, not just album sales.

The end result is that these mega-players will still be generating, and will have, millions of dollars from a music industry of some sort to back them up. The dynamics and names of the companies will change, but it's still not going to mean much when you step into a club or a dirty rock bar to see a small band play. Simply, a plan like Radiohead's will have no effect on getting the Bionics, The Acorns or the Baby Eagles of the world heard.

Radiohead's management knows as much. "This is a solution for Radiohead, not for the industry," said Edge, in the Music Week article.

Now let's not let savvy capitalism be confused with some more religious assignation to Radiohead. That would be embarrassing for everyone.

This is my Blatant Propaganda column from the November 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. To purchase the issue, head on over to the Chart Shop.