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Radiohead Changes Tack, Joins iTunes

Posted by timothy on from the meeting-people-is-easy dept.

Joe Jay Bee writes "The British rock band Radiohead, who previously stated that they wouldn't want to have their music on Apple's iTunes Music Store (and, indeed, were unhappy when their Kid A album was released via the store) have performed something of an about-face; virtually their entire catalog, including singles and their B-Sides, has appeared on the store. The band previously said they only wanted their work sold as complete albums, which Apple refused to go along with; however their tack has apparently changed, and all their songs are available to mix and match, including their most recent work, In Rainbows. The albums are all available in DRM-free AAC format."

15 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. DRM - Free by elguillelmo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Maybe the fact their songs are available DRM-free has something to do with their changing of mind...

    --
    Dawkins Revisited: A person is shit's way of making more shit -- Steve Barnett, anthropologist.
    1. Re:DRM - Free by spandex_panda · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yeah, I guess its good, they don't have a record label now right? If I hadn't already bought all their cds I might give them some money, but not through itunes, I would get mp3 from tpb, and order some cds from their website. Its the future.

      --
      like phosphorescent desert buttons singing one familiar song
    2. Re:DRM - Free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Or maybe its the fact that downloading is "greener" than driving to a store and buy the CD, yeah? *hugs-tree*

    3. Re:DRM - Free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Or maybe, they decided they like money more than integrity.

    4. Re:DRM - Free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Or maybe its the fact that downloading is "greener" than driving to a store and buy the CD, yeah? *hugs-tree*

      Hehe, only true iff you weren't on your way to the store already or passing by it to/from work or some other engagement.

      Otherwise, ordering via mail is "green", those mail men typically walk door-to-door in the city and their cars are going that way with or without your package. If you're at a superstore already, picking up a CD hasn't affected the environment any more than not picking it up.

      It would be mute to argue about the energy required to run the computer to download as it would probably be on, even if you didn't download the song.

      The real difference is packaging. Which, if you download, then you simply don't have... unless you print out a label, burn a CD, and put it in your own jewel case. At which point, you've pretty much defeated an environmental advantages. And still, those things aren't so much "green" as it's marketed today, as it was in the 80's. It's about wasteful production, the filling of landfills and not just the melting of ice caps due to carbon emissions.

      Which is sadly, the REAL focus and marketing that should be emphasized. All this carbon credit stuff is bullshit. What should be marketed it getting people and companies to understand efficent means. Turning the lights off, water off, turning your WiiConnect24 standby mode off, and preventing as much "waste" of energy and resources as possible. It's a lot harder to do than one thinks (I've not been able to do it constantly myself, bad habits).

    5. Re:DRM - Free by Kibblet · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, you are right. However most are just certain songs you can only get if you buy the whole album. Usuallly all but one of the songs is available as singles, with one or two requiring that you buy the album. What RadioHead wanted was for the whole album to only be available, and no singles at all. It's a different case. Although I would argue for RadioHead. If that's how they want to sell their music, iTunes should let them do it. Apple's head is getting way too big lately. Heaven forbid Apple do something for their customers! I prefer to buy what I want, not a whole album. And it has nothing to do with artistic integrity, but pure greed. Take the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack. There is a song there only available if you get the whole album. It's not like it is the original artist saying "we want these works together as a whole", it must be that no one else wants the crap on that soundtrack and it is the only way to make any money. So kudos to Apple for standing up for their customers. I wish they would do it more often, and unbundle ANY song that requires you buying the whole album.
    6. Re:DRM - Free by Altus · · Score: 3, Interesting



      I get both sides in this. On the one hand you are right that many people would just like to buy a few songs that are on the radio and leave it at that.

      On the artist side though, its like selling the bottom right corner of a painting. Admitedly the Album is a dying artform these days (mostly due to MP3 players and shuffle) but there are still some artists who develop entire albums rather than just a few songs and some filler. These are the sort of thing thats meant to be listened to from start to finish. I can understand not wanting your album chopped up and sold piece by piece if you put that kind of effort into a whole album.

      Still, I see this transition as fairly inevitable. The album has been dying for quite some time and the rise of the MP3 player is going to pretty much end it.

      --

      "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson

    7. Re:DRM - Free by CastrTroy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The 99 cent thing works both ways. There's probably a lot of artists who would be willing to sell their music for less, if only Apple would allow them.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    8. Re:DRM - Free by SiriusStarr · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Atheists (at least most) are scientifically minded, and thus, they don't tend to deny the possibility outright. In the manner of good scientists, they just feel that an overwhelming majority of the evidence presented seems to suggest that there is no god/God/gods. This does not mean that we would be unwilling to change our beliefs if new evidence presented itself. If god/God suddenly appeared in front of an atheist and started performing miracles right and left (and it were fairly clear that this was not an instance of hallucination), that atheist would probably reconsider his views. There is no certainty in science; it's simply about modeling and understanding the world to the best of one's ability with what information you have at the current time.

      --
      Fear the penguin.
  2. Nude Garageband stem sales by theurge14 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm curious as to how much money they generated from the sales they made of the Nude Remix contest via iTunes and Garageband. This may have been the band and/or the label testing the waters.

    1. Re:Nude Garageband stem sales by Alioth · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's a pity that this missed the deadline for the remix contest:

      http://www.vimeo.com/1109226?pg=embed&sec=1109226

      It's possibly one of the most awesome covers I've ever seen.

      --
      Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
  3. Not everyone is a completist.... by argent · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Itunes is only worth it when there are extras, like bonus songs or interviews. Or at least a discount!

    Not everyone is a completist. If I find a song I like, I'll buy it on iTunes. If I like an artist enough after a while to go ahead and buy an album, I'll buy it on CD. Sometimes I'll buy an album on iTunes if there's enough tracks that the $10 album price makes sense, but usually I just buy a couple of songs.

  4. Re:reason why they only want to sell albums by dprovine · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What I don't understand is this: there are already things on iTunes which are listed as "Album Only", so you can't buy just one song but have to get the whole set.

    It seems strange that Apple has that in place and then refuses to let somebody like Radiohead use it. How do they decide?

  5. Album Artwork by chriscrowley · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Since I already own all of Radiohead's CDs (I'm a huge fan) and have them ripped to iTunes, I'm happy that iTunes should now retrieve all their album artwork. I never even knew that Radiohead wasn't available in the iTunes store until recently when I noticed all of their songs on my iPod were missing the album artwork.

  6. We have a winner! by dreddnott · · Score: 3, Interesting

    http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2210259,00.html

    Read about the ongoing feud between Radiohead and their former big label here.

    I'd bet that the summary article is incorrect and the band itself did not directly approve of the iTunes move.

    --
    I may make you feel, but I can't make you think.