Without a snippet of a new track or a teasing soundbite from a band member, early this morning Radiohead announced that their eighth album will be available for purchase on Saturday. The new LP The King Of Limbs will be available in either digital format or in what the band is calling Newspaper Format. There is no track information, but the physical form will include both vinyl and compact disc copies of the album, a digital download in either mp3 or CD quality format and, by description, some incredibly ornate packaging. This will be Radiohead's first album since 2007 In Rainbows where the album was offered by the band in a "pay what you want" scheme as a response to the proliferation of illegal downloading of copyrighted music and to the shedding of the oppressive dead weight of their record label Capitol Records. Besides for a couple of odd singles released in 2009, this is the first new music heard of any sort by Radiohead.
It is interesting how a band of this magnitude is more concerned with having complete control over their material and trailblazing a new path of truly independent methods of promoting, marketing and selling their product. Instead of wasting gobs of money suing individual consumers and foreign entities such as torrent sites (whose cost gets deferred back to the legal record buyer), Radiohead seems to have accepted and even embraced new technology with all of its flaws and does what it can to still make (more than) a few bucks. Where today's new model is to give away at least the single of a popular album at least one month before an official launch, Radiohead scrapped the method they fostered and rewrote the rules by using the all-enticing methods of exclusivity, product quality and well-kept secrets. Of course, only a band this popular could do this on such a grand scale. But the tenets are now well in place for other independent artists to choose their best method to make a living without settling for big label record support. Even if you are not a fan, please tip your hat to Radiohead for keeping the standard lofty and unwavering.
Pre-order and find out the full details about The King of Limbs here.
Radiohead - These Are My Twisted Words
Radiohead - 15 Step
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