In Rainbows

In the Book of Genesis, God had Noah build an arc, and destroy the rest of mankind with a flood.

After that, he signified a covenant with a rainbow.

Dramatics aside, Radiohead’s most recent release on Oct. 10 was fittingly titled “In Rainbows,” a covenant of sorts between the artist and the listeners.

They offer up the fruits of their labor, available for download on their Web site at inrainbows.com.

Fans type in how much they think the album is worth – if they say it’s worth one American dollar or a million British pounds, it doesn’t matter – and are granted access to download.

Simple as that.

State of music industry

For all those who are unaware, our society has entered a musical revolution in which a teenager with a laptop could potentially produce music that is more profitable than the Rolling Stones. They call it the digital revolution; an explanation into not only how industries function, but how they function together.

In the music industry, this digital trend stems from a much larger power struggle between music as a business, and music as an art. Because of this digital revolution, files are transferred easier and music can be shared at a phenomenal pace.

When unsigned artists first begin, a record company can be effective with the business of the music.

“When musicians aren’t business-savvy, the corporate record companies are right for them,” said Heidi Kentshaft, an employee at Providence Records.

The record label coordinates the promotion and enforcement of copyright protection of sound recordings and music videos.

However, a criticism of the label system is that there are too many people trying to get too many pieces of a small pie.

During this digital revolution, an increase in digital sales and a decrease in record sales means an increase in record prices.

According to WordPress.com, a leading global market research company, reported that in 2006, “legal digital music downloading was the fastest growing digital music category.”

What does this mean? Actually, this means everything. We have come from vinyl, to tape, to the Compact Disk – resigned almost to the $20 coaster – and now digital music.

“The reason digital music is so effective is that we can access it ourselves through the internet,” Kentshaft said. “We don’t need record companies showing us what music is good. We certainly don’t need them to charge us for it.”

Are corporate record label’s such as Capitol Records and Atlantic Records even necessary to the system?

“Record companies are important because it takes money and a good business sense to be successful,” Kentshaft said. “If artists have this, then great. But most don’t.”

We finally figured out why we need these companies that eventually end up overcharging us – distribution. But is this necessarily accurate? Are we incapable of finding our own music?

Unchartered waters

The release of Radiohead’s album, “In Rainbows,” on Oct. 10th is the closest we have ever come to completely testing the idea of a self-sustaining, truly independent band. Pardon the subtle insult to “indie” rockers. This means no support financially from a record company.

The UK-based Radiohead have created six albums since 1992, to heavy critical acclaim. They have solid millions of records across the world.

Now they have chosen to test this online distribution theory under the assumption that their insanely loyal fan base would buy their record, whether they had tangible access to it. Rather than release their record through a record label (their contract with Capitol expired in Oct. 2007), they have decided to distribute their album via the band’s Web site. One form is digital and can be purchased for any amount. The other is a discbox which includes the “In Rainbows” CD as well as a recording sessions bonus CD, a two vinyl edition of “In Rainbows” and a hardcover book. The boxset is approximately $80.

This is unprecedented because they aren’t just distributing their album electronically, they are offering ways to purchase their physical album, through them. It would be as if you went to the supermarket, and dairy farmers were lined up, milking the cows so that you could drink it on the spot.

“It’s a ballsy move, that only Radiohead could do right now,” said Pete Wentz in a recent phone interview. “It’s interesting because … you’d have to crunch the numbers to figure out from monetary standpoint what could work.”

Wentz, the bassist for Fall Out Boy, is also the co-founder of Decaydance Records, which has signed such acts as Panic at the Disco!, Gym Class Heroes and Cobra Starship.

“The industry is a mess right now,” Wentz said. “They’re still trying to change stuff from 20 years ago.”

Pr
ess swarm

All it took to create a media blitz for was Radiohead’s simple announcement on their Web site that “In Rainbows” was being distributed electronically:

“Hello everyone. Well, the new album is finished, and it’s coming out in 10 days; we’ve called it ‘In Rainbows.’ Love from us all.”

From there it sent shockwaves through the record industry and was reported on in national magazines, newspapers, television and blogs.

It was no surprise then, that on Oct. 10, inrainbows.com was temporarily shut down for hours on end, presumably due to the extremely high Web traffic.

Waste, Radiohead’s fan company in charge of distributing “In Rainbows” online, was not immediately available for comment.

“The press that they got out of this was absolutely insane,” Wentz said.

This July, pop-icon Prince released his new record “Planet Earth” for free to the United Kingdom. The results were staggering. Three million copies were taken, and he sold out all of his upcoming tour dates.

“In Rainbows” was Radiohead’s first collaborative album since 2001’s “Hail to the Thief.” The band had been working more than a year with longtime producer Nigel Godrich. Their deal with Capitol had, of course, expired before work on “In Rainbows” began, so the hype was already in place amongst fans.

“Radiohead already has a name and a fan base … but, as long as nothing is being pressed, you don’t need money to distribute,” Kentshaft said.

When albums are pressed, the recording artist generally earns between 25 and 30 percent of the album, as torrentfreak.com reports.

“Record companies should do a cost-benefit analysis,” Kentshaft said. “Every album isn’t the same, and they shouldn’t be charged the same.”

In a recent interview with the Herald Sun, Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails said, “I know how much the packaging costs – it costs 83 cents more to have a CD with the colour-changing ink on it. I’m taking the hit on that, not them. So I said, ‘It doesn’t cost $10 more.'”

Future looks bright

It’s understandable if people would genuinely take issue with buying CDs.

As CD prices increase, there is a decrease in the production of records. According to New York Habit, “with the decreasing inventory of in-store music, the industry is interpreting a greater decrease in consumer interest … these days, the FYE’s, Best Buy’s, and others are not too crazy about offering a large selection of CDs in store, so they order less of these units.”

As much as the CD age is dying, the digital age is growing faster than ever.

“It’s interesting. I like seeing people in the future and making these giant steps forward,” Wentz said. “I have great applause for Radiohead to do this.”

All this points to a large change in music production.

“We are either going to be the last ones selling records or the first band that doesn’t. The future has to be different,” Wentz said. “It’s kind of like the wild wild west in the industry now, and we’re just looking not to get shot.”

Graham Beckwith can be reached at [email protected].