In Rainbows: Radiohead makes consumers
boss of music industry with new promotion

RYAN TAUGHRIN
Arts Editor

Was In Rainbows worth it, and how does it translate into the rest of the music industry?


Radiohead's seventh album, In Rainbows, was distributed in October exclusively as a digital download. What makes In Rainbows unique is the fans' ability to choose the price, including free as an option, a feature convenient for poor college students.

"I immediately thought that Radiohead was going to turn the music industry completely on its ear. It would change the way people view buying music," said junior vocal performance major Boris VanDruff. "I ended up getting it for free, but I'll be getting the discbox when it comes out."

The discbox is the physical format of In Rainbows that Radiohead plans for the release in December. Unlike the current digital download, the price of the discbox is slated to be around $80.

After almost a decade of enjoying mainstream success and maintaining the resonance that initially hooked their listeners, the production of In Rainbows was free from record label deadlines and production expectations.

"It's really liberating not to feel part of the record company structures. It should be an extremely positive place to be in but I think at the moment it's like the cartoon bit when Roadrunner comes of the cliff and keeps running - then looks down," said Radiohead front-man Thom Yorke to British music news publication NME in March of 2007 while preparing to record the album.

By giving the consumer the option of choosing their price for digital downloads of In Rainbows, Radiohead has actively stimulated discussion on every end of the music industry.

"Looking down," as Yorke describes it, includes giving critics more to evaluate than the poignancy of the drum beat on track nine, forcing consumers to put a price tag on music whether they want to or not, giving emerging artists a blueprint as to how to market their sound without needing a big name producer and most importantly, inciting major labels to take a look at what the acts they have established are now capable of.

Now that the media avalanche of distributing the 10-track effort without a record label and without a specific price has begun to subside, it is time to see if the experiment was worth the hype. Not just the hype of one of the most unique and enigmatic bands releasing more studio tracks, but doing so on a scale that has never been attempted nor as widely publicized before.

"Just remember this is not a business model, it is a promotion scheme and it only works this well because Radiohead already has a rabid fan base, and this promotion scheme is still new. Once it has been done 50 times, these high response rates will settle down," said James McQuivey, vice president of entertainment and market analysis company, Forrester Research.

Judging by the cohesiveness of the album alone, In Rainbows is a stellar effort from Radiohead. It hits big at all the right points and the ending track, "Videotape" makes life seem miserable and beautiful all at once. Thom Yorke's vocals feature a hint of R&B soul that wraps the rhythm section together flawlessly. Each of the 10 tracks is more than accessible, even to casual or new Radiohead listeners.

The baggage carried along with In Rainbows was expected. The band has opened a potential business model that the music industry has yet to analyze and deal with.

According to the Harvard Business Online conversation starter, Radiohead sold roughly 1.2 million digital copies of In Rainbows and has collected around $10 million in sales. That money goes directly to the band, not labels, publishers or distributors.

"As more established bands follow Radiohead's approach, that model could change dramatically. Unfortunately for the music labels, that change would only decrease their relevance and mechanisms to make money," stated Scott Anthony, president of a business consultant group Innosight.

Days before the album could be downloaded, the band released a statement explaining the album would only be available at a 160kb bitrate, a quality much lower than fans expected.

"There are audiophiles out there who need high quality and some refuse to go the digital CD route. However, these people listen for things that the average person will not listen for," said senior music business major Sam Jividen. "For me personally I don't mind the 160 range but I always will try and go for the best quality. My CDs are ripped to my computer at CD quality, no matter how much space it takes up.

Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood spoke to Rolling Stone immediately following the backlash regarding song quality. "We talked about it and we just wanted to make it a bit better than iTunes, which it is, so that's kind of good enough, really. It's never going to be CD-quality, because that's what a CD does."

Song quality, lasting impressions and actual talent aside, this release has been integral in understanding a bigger picture occurring in the music industry.

"I think it's fair to say that this model, if executed effectively, can be a very legitimate sales driver. In Radiohead's case, as the first band to venture into this uncharted territory they had the benefit of a media firestorm to help promote the album," stated Andrew Lipsman of ComScore, a global information provider for digital outlets on Nov. 5.

Three days after the ComScore report, Radiohead vehemently denied their reports, citing it impossible for an outside company to properly analyze sales figures from their Web site, calling the company "wholly inaccurate."

Along with sidestepping ComScore, the band announced the physical disc we will be released in retail stores on Dec. 31.