The Radiohead Case

The Radiohead Case

"I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say 'F___ you' to this decaying business model."

-Radiohead singer Thom Yorke in a TIME magazine interview.

Basic Facts

Radiohead is a critically acclaimed rock band from England. Radiohead has released a number of albums starting with Pablo Honey in 1992. Over the course of its career, Radiohead has achieved global popularity, with recent album releases debuting near the top of charts in the UK, US and other major markets. (For more information on the band, see the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohead.)

After releasing its previous record Hail to the Thief in 2003, Radiohead found itself without a label as its then-current deal with EMI/Capitol had expired. Still without a label, the band began writing and recording new material. On October 10, 2007, the band released its 7-th studio album, entitled In Rainbows. In Rainbows was released independently as a digital download by the band, without a label or distributor, through the band’s website. The release features a unique pricing arrangement. When the digital download appears in one’s shopping cart the price is listed as a question mark. Upon clicking this, “It’s Up To You” appears with a fill-in box. In short, the band allows customers to determine their own price, with only a relatively small (under $1.00) service fee as a minimum.

In addition to the digital download, the band is selling a box-set package including CD, art, vinyl and additional songs. This is priced at around $60 in US currency. Radiohead plans to launch a major tour early next year.

The News

The following articles expand upon the above-described basic facts. (All together, reading these should take less than half an hour.)

• http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1666973,00.html

• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/opinion/14sun3.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1192593600&en=8594ff200d5ec329&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

• http://www.doshdosh.com/radiohead-anti-marketing-in-the-music-industry/

• http://www.theseminal.com/2007/10/23/radioheads-tips-might-be-higher-than-you-expect/

You are welcome to Google/read other articles, but the above should be more than sufficient in order to complete the case