Radiohead

Analysis: Coldplay Compared to NIN and Radiohead

Authored by Heather Hopkins on May 9, 2008 - 5:55am.

Last week we issued a news release titled Coldplay's Free Single Propels Website to #1 Online Among Bands and Artists. We found that U.S. visits to Coldplay.com increased 19 fold on the back of the band's new single, Violet Hill, being released for free online. On April 29, 2008, the day the single was released on Coldplay.com, the website ranked as the most visited website among the Bands and Artists category. A little more than 1 out of every 40 visits to Bands and Artists category went to Coldplay's website that day.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke: Free Album Offer Was a "One-Off"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 30, 2008 - 11:58am.

Los Angeles - Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has called the band's move to let consumers decide how much, if anything, to pay for its new album "In Rainbows" a "one-off," which likely won't be repeated again, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

tags: Music | DRM | Retail | Radiohead |

Metallica Ponders Radiohead-style Album Release

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 28, 2008 - 12:35pm.

Mountain View, Calif. - With one more record due to Warner Music under their current contract, Metallica is considering a Radiohead-style release for future efforts, drummer Lars Ulrich tells Rolling Stone. "We've been observing Radiohead and Trent Reznor and in twenty-seven years or however long it takes for the next record, we'll be looking forward to everything in terms of possibilities with the Internet," said Ulrich. Since notably coming out against illegal downloading during the heyday of Napster, the band now offers FLAC and MP3 versions of shows for sale on its website, while older shows can be downloaded for free.

Thomas Dolby Among Remixers of Radiohead Track

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 22, 2008 - 12:52pm.

Suffolk, England - Among the 2,000 or so who have uploaded their own remixes of Radiohead's song "Nude" after the band made stem tracks available for download from iTunes was electronic musician Thomas Dolby, the artist said on Tuesday. "I was trying out my new wireless router to see if I could get reception down on the beach in front of my house," said Dolby. "Sitting there shivering beside the North Sea with my laptop, huddled in a blanket and listening to Radiohead's 'Nude' stems on iTunes, with the waves lapping the shore and a crowd of seagulls fighting over a crab shell, I got an idea for a lovely remix." The song is available for free download from RadioheadRemix.com.

Radiohead Launches Own Social Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 4, 2008 - 11:50am.

Los Angeles - Radiohead has launched its own social networking site, based from the same W.A.S.T.E. merchandise website that offered its "In Rainbows" album on a pay-what-you-want basis, Pitchfork Media reports. At launch, the W.A.S.T.E. Central site lets users create profiles, see who else is going to shows on the band's current tour, and view and upload photos and videos.

Radiohead Launches Song Remix Contest with iTunes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2008 - 11:30am.

Los Angeles - Radiohead has partnered with Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store to give fans the ability to create their own remix for their new single "Nude," offering the separate vocal and instrumental parts of the song for download from the online store.

Buzz Watch: Radiohead Music Video Contest

Authored by Jay Baage on March 17, 2008 - 6:02am.

The band Radiohead continues to engage its fans in new creative ways by joining forces with the independent animation site Aniboom for a contest that will earn one lucky winner $10,000 to produce a music video for the group. As the site NewTeeVee points out, it is hardly the first time a band or artist has invited fans to create a music video, but the fact that the band has teamed up with an independent animation studio, not tied to one of the major media companies, is worth noting...

Nine Inch Nails "Free" Album Pulls In $1.6M In Its First Week

Authored by Jay Baage on March 13, 2008 - 7:29am.

Los Angeles - Nine Inch Nails pulled in a healthy $1.6 million in revenues during the first week after they released their new album "Ghosts I-IV" Radiohead-style. The release resulted in just under 800,000 transactions and is its first offering since the band's major label contract with Interscope expired last October, including a mix of free and paid downloads, regular CDs and various limited edition versions.

Amplive Gets OK From Radiohead for "In Rainbows" Remixes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 13, 2008 - 1:50pm.

San Francisco - An Oakland-based producer called Amplive has reportedly received approval from Radiohead to release his remix album based entirely from tracks off the band's recently released "In Rainbows," and has posted it for free download online, Wired.com reported. Amplive was apparently contacted by representatives of the band earlier in the process of creating his "Rainydayz Remixes" project, and told to cease and desist. The remix album features guest vocals from artists including Too Short, MC Zumbi of Zion I, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, Codany Holiday, and Del tha Funkee Homosapien.

Physical Release of Radiohead's "In Rainbows" No. 1 in U.S.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 10, 2008 - 12:49pm.

London - The CD version of Radiohead's "In Rainbows" entered the U.S. album sales charts at No. 1 for the week ended Jan. 6, and was also the top-selling album in the U.K., Canada, Japan and France, Reuters reported. Following the band's historical Internet release of the record, where fans could choose to pay any price -- or nothing -- for the album as an MP3 download, the physical version of the record sold 122,000 in the U.S. its first week out.

tags: Music | DRM | Retail | Radiohead |

Music Retailer 7digital.com Saw Sales Jump 188% in 2007

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 10, 2008 - 12:44pm.

London - U.K.-based digital music retailer 7digital.com has announced that year-on-year sales were up 188%, which the company credited to its ability to offer 70% of its 3.5 million-track catalog in the MP3 format. Top selling albums in 2007 included Kylie Minogue's "X," Arctic Monkeys' "Favourite Worst Nightmare" and The White Stripes' "Icky Thump." The company also benefited from an exclusive deal to offer Radiohead's back catalog digitally, as six of these albums were in the top 20. "2008 is set to be the year DRM is gone for good," said 7digital managing director Ben Drury. "We've already seen all four majors make efforts to offer DRM-free downloads and by the summer DRM will likely be resigned to the history books."

tags: Music | DRM | Retail | 7%% | Radiohead |

Radiohead Talking With iTunes; Will Shutter "In Rainbows" Site

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 6, 2007 - 11:33am.

London - Radiohead will end the choose-your-own-price experiment with the online release of its "In Rainbows" album on Monday, and is now in talks with Apple (NASD: AAPL) on an iTunes Store release for the record, Billboard reports.

My Bloody Valentine Plan Internet Release for Reunion Album

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 26, 2007 - 12:41pm.

Dublin - Influential "shoegazer" rock band My Bloody Valentine plan to follow in Radiohead's footsteps, when they release a long-awaited reunion album by themselves on the Internet, Billboard reports. "The plan is that they will release the album themselves via the Internet, but there will also probably be a vinyl release," the band's London-based manager, Vinita Joshi, told Billboard. However, the band will reportedly not allow fans to choose their own price for the download, as Radiohead did with "In Rainbows." The band has already sold out several reunion shows scheduled in the U.K. next summer.

Report: 38% of Consumers Paid (About $6) for Radiohead Album

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2007 - 12:22pm.
Radiohead publicity photo

Reston, Va. - Just 38% of consumers paid an average of $6 to download Radiohead's "In Rainbows" album during October, while 62% of global downloaders chose to pay nothing, according to a report from comScore, which counts a worldwide database of 2 million people whose online behavior it tracks. The percentage of consumers downloading for free in the U.S. (60%) was a bit lower than in the rest of the world (64%), although U.S. paying customers shelled out more on average ($8.05 per download) than did their international counterparts ($4.64).

Despite Pricing Offer, 500K Get Radiohead Album via P2P

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 17, 2007 - 12:35pm.

Radiohead logoNew York - Despite the fact that Radiohead is letting fans pay whatever they choose -- including nothing -- to download its new album from its website, more than 500,000 have downloaded the album for free off of the BitTorrent file-sharing network since its release, Forbes.com reported, citing data from peer-to-peer monitoring firm Big Champagne.

Is Live Nation's $120 Million Deal with Madonna a Smart Play?

Authored by dmw on October 10, 2007 - 5:33pm.

Madonna Leaving Warner to Sign $120 Million Live Nation Deal

Authored by Scott Goldberg on October 10, 2007 - 5:26pm.
Is Madonna Still Worth $120 MillionWhat a month for major labels: First Radiohead announces their new album is worth as much as their fans say it is, then Trent Reznor follows suit and leaves his label with Nine Inch Nails in tow, then Jamiroquai and Oasis consider a similar Radiohead move, and now this: Madonna is leaving Warner to accept a $120 million recording and touring offer from Live Nation.

Report: Charlatans, Oasis, Jamiroquai Consider Radiohead-Type Releases

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 10, 2007 - 10:54am.
London - Three popular acts not currently signed to a label -- Charlatans, Oasis and Jamiroquai -- are considering offering upcoming releases for free or allowing fans to decide on the price they pay, Telegraph.co.uk reported, citing industry sources.

Analysis: Radiohead, Freakonomics and Free Music

Authored by Robin Goad on October 10, 2007 - 8:35am.

Radiohead grabbed headlines last week by announcing that fans will be allowed to name their own price when downloading the band’s new album, In / Rainbows. The band is currently taking pre-orders via their official website, which saw an 11-fold increase in UK Internet traffic last week to become the most visited website in our Music – Bands and Artists category.

Bruce Springsteen Has 8th Career No. 1 Album

Authored by Scott Goldberg on October 10, 2007 - 6:45am.
The Boss has another No. 1 AlbumNielsen SoundScan released its weekly album sales numbers today, and Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen has the No. 1 selling album for the eighth time in his career, though the number was far below a record for the veteran.  Magic, a collaboration with the E Street Band (the first such album since 2002’s The Rising), sold 335,000 copies in the week ending October 7th.  The album was also the top seller on British charts.