Release Methods - Radiohead v. U2

[gvox]

I had to laugh at the following three ideas, I think they were all by the same person but I'm too lazy to go back and quote

1. that only pathetic computer nerds who jerk off at the mention of being able to download music (or something equally inane) will appreciate a move like this.

Um. Right. And please comment on the individuals (me, one of them) on this site who get excited about a U2..Kanye...or..shudder..Coldplay internet leak?

2. that the only way to get these 8 rare tracks is by having access to a computer

Um. Isn't that the same deal with The Complete U2? Can you walk into your local record store and buy a copy of Native Son? I don't know, haven't tried because...oh...wait...I'm digressing onto my next point.

3. that people who don't have computers are somehow less advantaged radiohead fans than radiohead fans that do.

Um. Isn't 'radiohead fan' and 'computerless' kind of an oxymoron? I would be willing to be that the amount of people who are Radiohead fans and absolutely can't get to a computer is FAR FAR less than the ratio of U2 fans who don't have a computer. Far less. And I hate to break it to ya, but people with computers are far ahead of the game than their non-computer-having counterparts in so many ways...like..not necessarily having to walk to the post office for every single piece of communication..like..not having to ring up Mom and leave a message for her while your burning a recipe you could just as easily find online in 2 seconds...like...filing your taxes..like..a million other things.

But wait - didn't you write that ON A COMPUTER???

I think this is a good step in the right direction. It might not be perfected yet, but it's pretty cool and a unique way to try and take on the freeloaders (record companies in that group too)

 

[gvox]

Also, someone mentioned the joy of queing in line at a store for a new release. I'm sorry, but I fail to see any joy in that. It's about as joyful an event as queing in line at Ticketbastard to get U2 tickets. It's completely joy-less, imo.

When we drive by a music store and see people huddled outside for that new release, I don't know about anyone else, but I chuckle and keep on driving, knowing that when I get home I can download it, and then when the storm of release week passes, I can cruise on in to almost anywhere and pick it up no line, no hassle.

What Radiohead should do for those who want the physical copy is offer an option to download, for the price they want.

Then have a Fixed Price Download and Pickup option. You pay $14.99 or whatever, you download AND get a voucher from a particpating street level retailer for a free (well it's not free, you paid for it) copy of the album.

You simply download, you get to pay what you want.

You pay our price, we'll give you not only a sneak peek that lets you avoid the release day lines if you want, but also a hard copy of the album to pick up at your leisure.

You pay even more, you get the double disc set, in the above fashion.


Some Radiohead fanatic call their managment, I think I've got the perfect answer


(well, at least until someone shoots holes all thru it )

 

[gareth brown]

That smacks of elitism to me. Out with the old, in with the new. Let's embrace the future!Leave the people of the past behind!

glady if all they're going to do is whinge...

That smacks of elitism to me.

that may be, but so does stuff like this:

So If I just want to rock up to Jb HiFi and buy the album as a sane, normal 90's person, how much will it cost me?

unless you're posting on this forum using telepathy or whatever, I'm assuming you have access to the internet, correct? So you can download the album with the rest of us and [come 2008] as you keep saying, "rock up" to the record shop and buy the album on compact disc!

I just find it bizarre why it's such a problem having it online when it's coming out later. If you don't want to buy the discbox fine, but surely you're a BIT happy that it's coming out as a standard CD sometime early next year? Who knows maybe they'll release both CDs? The thing I find baffling is this whole sane, normal 90's person thing

Great, you like the 90s. I loved the 90s and also love LPs/CDs and having the album in my hands and not (on average) 192kbps MP3s...but BIG DEAL. "Oh yeah check me out I'm soooo 90s and retro, I still like CDs, come on guys let's rock up to the record shop and buy the album on CD because that's what we do, we don't follow the crowd and DOWNLOAD?! That's for SLACKERS man! RETRO REVOLUTION!"

...that's not what you're saying i know before you point that out but it's just the impression I'm getting!!
You're complaining about nothing. It's coming on CD eventually, in the meantime you can download it and still get to hear it so what's the problem? Why do you need to go on about how it's normal and 90's both you and the notion of buying it on CD are? THAT's elitist! You're like the 'indy' kids who think we ALL need to hear about how "I only buy albums on vinyl." "Why?" "It's different..."

 

[martha]

Then have a Fixed Price Download and Pickup option. You pay $14.99 or whatever, you download AND get a voucher from a particpating street level retailer for a free (well it's not free, you paid for it) copy of the album.

This would be so bitchin.

 

[mobvok]

I say, I can hardly find any phonographs these days! Where has that Thomas Edison gone to?

 

[intedomine]

Whether I'm using a computer or not to type my rant is beside the point. What concerns me is that I don't manage my finances in a way that allows me to place pre-orders over the internet or pay for this $1 transaction fee. If I want to download the album next week or place an order for the "diskboxx", I'll have to reconfigure my whole way of using the internet, which to me seems like a bit of a hassle, and much more of a hassle than going to a record store.

I'm used to going to a record store. I like going to a record store. It's a piece of piss and I want to see people and I want to see light. So let me do it Radiohead!

I don't see any reason why Radiohead can't cater for both kind of record buyers. The traditional kind and the new-age kind. There's nothing medieval about the traditional kind. It's a natural instinct.

Spring a surprise physical and digital release on the same day. That'd be much sweeter for all consumers.

And it is way too simplistic to suggest that all Radiohead fans have or use computers. I know plenty who don't.

And can anyone please supply me with proof that the BONUS DISC will DEFINTELY be avaliable for purchase IN record stores. If this is not possible, I think my grievances are very well founded. I'll just have to illegally download these tunes. Radiohead won't get a cent of royalty from that at all, and that's their own fault for not catering for all their fans.

 

[indra]

Spring a surprise physical and digital release on the same day. That'd be much sweeter for all consumers.
...
I'll just have to illegally download these tunes.

My guess is that a surprise physical cd release would be a royal pain in the ass logistically. They don't currently have a record label, so chances are good they don't have a solid way to distribute a physical cd right now either. And when a physical cd is in the distribution pipeline it is going to get leaked, and I'm assuming they don't want that either.

As for your comment about having to illegally download bonus disc songs, that's just bullshit. You don't HAVE to do anything of the sort. No one has to steal music. They do it because they want to. Period.

 

[xaviMF22]

 

[xaviMF22]

I'll have to reconfigure my whole way of using the internet, which to me seems like a bit of a hassle, and much more of a hassle than going to a record store.

 

[intedomine]

QUOTE]Originally posted by indra



As for your comment about having to illegally download bonus disc songs, that's just bullshit. You don't HAVE to do anything of the sort. No one has to steal music. They do it because they want to. Period. [/QUOTE]

The only way to hear these tunes is to pre-order the "diskboxx", which is an expensive package that contains the bonus disc and a couple of vinyl records, which I won't be able to play anyway.

And as I stated earlier, my internet arrangement is not configured to allow me to pre-order this package. It's not super-easy or convenient. I wouldn't know how to place a pre-order in the first place, which is partly the fault of the confusing Radiohead official website and the inrainbows.com offshoot, which again, as it always has been, impossible to navigate oneself around.

 

[xaviMF22]

And as I stated earlier, my internet arrangement is not configured to allow me to pre-order this package. It's not super-easy or convenient. I wouldn't know how to place a pre-order in the first place, which is partly the fault of the confusing Radiohead official website and the inrainbows.com offshoot, which again, as it always has been, impossible to navigate oneself around.

yea its so hard to click preorder

go to your basket

click pay now and checkout

 

[intedomine]

Payment method?

 

[intedomine]

Looks like I'm fucked, I don't have a credit card

 

[xaviMF22]

Looks like I'm fucked, I don't have a credit card

you don't have to pay for anything

put 0000 in amount and check out

 

[intedomine]

you don't have to pay for anything

put 0000 in amount and check out

Eh, don't feel comfortable doing that, but i'll do it anyway, cause I'm impatient to hear the album.

Isn;t there a 45 pence transaction fee we have to deal with.

 

[xaviMF22]

Eh, don't feel comfortable doing that, but i'll do it anyway, cause I'm impatient to hear the album.

Isn;t there a 45 pence transaction fee we have to deal with.

nope

just register after and then you get an email with your account number

and bravo

 

[intedomine]

Holy shit OMG I'm getting the album on October 10. Just checking out the Rolling Stone previews, I'm excited-ish now.

 

[xaviMF22]

Holy shit OMG I'm getting the album on October 10. Just checking out the Rolling Stone previews, I'm excited-ish now.

you are now part of the digital revolution

 

[pepokiss]

I hope everyone downloads the album paying the 45 whatever fee, and noones buys the boxsets... who can play vynils now?... can I turn them into clocks?


crash and burn for RH, baby... and I'll laugh

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I haven't really been following the build up to this - how much of this leaked previous to this week, what quality was it (in general - and how close to the finished product) and how long ago did it leak?

 

[gareth brown]

none of the album itself has leaked, all we've had are what's been recorded by fans at concerts and shared over the internet, i've only listened to two tracks [one of which, 'Spooks', doesn't look like it's made the album unless it's been re-named ] but the video of 'All I Need' live in Amsterdam last year is great quality sound.

So just check around YouTube and Radiohead forums, there's a thread at AtEase where someone's posted the whole album as live performances from the last tour if you want to hear them!

 

[intedomine]

I know Rolling Stone website has an excellent preview of each track being played live with a short paragraph describing each track, the sound quality is very good, but I'm trying to resist hearing the new songs....but Arpeggi has enchanted me to much and am already craving it after just one listen.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

none of the album itself has leaked

So it hasn't leaked, they're releasing it in a hard format in a month and on a standard CD early next year. So if they were just releasing it the standard way any time from November through February, you would expect to hear the whole thing or close to it via leaks well before it's release right?

 

[intedomine]

The astonishing thing is that most of these tunes were being played live during 05 and 06 and then Radiohead hibernated to the studio for seemingly forever, and have only now released the songs as a studio album.

It will be interesting to see if all that time in the studio has completely transformed those songs from their original versions. It's quite incredible really, considering the original live versions of the songs seem consdiered perfect by most Radiohead fans....

 

[gareth brown]

So it hasn't leaked, they're releasing it in a hard format in a month and on a standard CD early next year. So if they were just releasing it the standard way any time from November through February, you would expect to hear the whole thing or close to it via leaks well before it's release right?

mmm! Since it's all being downloaded rather than pressed on CDs/records which could find their way into the wrong hands leading to the album popping up on the internet early [like Hail To The Thief last time and just about every major album in this day and age] for all we know the masters or whatever files we're all downloading next wednesday could be on one of Radiohead's laptops just waiting for them to upload it Tuesday night. I like the idea that the artist now also has control on EXACTLY when everyone gets to hear it if this method of releasing music really takes off. It must feel a lot better knowing you're the only one with the album and your fans aren't going to be trading potentially crap quality mp3s of the album weeks/months early.

Another question - what format/bitrate is everyone thinking/hoping this album will be available in?

 

[gareth brown]

whoops! pressed quote instead of edit!

 

[martha]

I like going to a record store.

Me too.

 

[intedomine]

I'm just hoping the October 10 download will be playable on my Hi-Fi system. I don;t wanna have a whole computer on just so I can listen to an album.

 

[Salome]

it's quite clever really
they're building up a bit of a hype now
will cash in on the holiday season when they release the album in stores
followed with a tour that will prolly end somewhere around next holiday season I reckon they might have given Paul McGuinness an idea

 

[gareth brown]

I'm just hoping the October 10 download will be playable on my Hi-Fi system. I don;t wanna have a whole computer on just so I can listen to an album.

can't you burn it to a CD?