Radiohead's Manager Told Them To Split

05/05/09 12:44pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Radiohead's In Rainbows might never have been released and the band might no longer exist if they had listened to their manager's advice a few years ago.

Brian Message of Courtyard Management — which manages Radiohead, Supergrass, Kate Nash and others — advised the band to split up in 2005 because they were having trouble figuring out what direction their next record should take.

"I've been lucky to work with some great artists and Radiohead are a once-in-a-generation act," Message said at a Music Managers Forum seminar in Dublin, Ireland, according to The Irish Times newspaper.

"But you have to be honest if it's not working. You have to have passion about what you do. I'm an accountant but I love music and I'm passionate about the artists I work with."

Radiohead soldiered on and eventually released In Rainbows digitally in a pay-what-you-want format in 2007 before releasing it in stores in January 2008. Message says Courtyard Management were behind the innovative release, which has been copied by many musical acts since.

"Two of my partners in the management company came up with the idea of pay what you like," he said. "Both the band and us were really excited about doing something brave and a bit wacky.

"We realized that by using the internet for the delivery of the album, we could reach 173 countries and it would cost us less than three cents a copy for distribution."

Message went on to comment about his and Radiohead's thoughts about peer-to-peer file-sharing, saying they thought it should be legal.

"The sharing of music where it is not for profit is a great thing for culture and music," The Irish Times quotes him as saying.

Radiohead have these shows lined up:

Aug. 21 St. Poelten, Austria @ Frequency Festival
Aug. 23 Prague, Czech Republic @ Vystaviste, Bruselska Cesta
Aug. 25 Poznan, Poland @ Park Cytadela (Poznan For Earth)
Aug. 29 Leeds, England @ Bramham Park (Leeds Festival)
Aug. 30 Reading, England @ Richfield Avenue (Reading Festival)