In Rainbows
I'm a fan. What's everyone else think?
I like the return to a more late-90's-Radiohead sound, as Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief were nowhere near as good, in my opinion, as the preceding three albums. That said, all the songs sound pretty much the same unless you're listening closesly to them. My favorites so far are "House of Cards" and "Nude," the latter of which was on repeat for a while today. Certainly one of the top albums of 2007 thus far.
I think the biggest achievement of the album isn't musical or creative, but rather financial and systemic. The record companies have to be worried about this. If this model works, I see no reason that other established bands won't follow suit. Sure, small and new acts will still need the advertizing and PR help of a label to gain a name and fan following, but other big names, in all genres, can now bypass the labels altogether. Since they get 100% of the profits, as opposed to 20% of the gross in a top-down coprporate setup, and have very little overhead, with an all-digital format, they stand to make a lot more money per album. And though they leave it up to the fans to set their own price, most people I know are payign a reasonable amount for In Rainbows. Even is someone pays onyl a few dollars, that's straight to the artists, and I'd wager they make more with all of $2 than they do with their small cut of a $15 cd or $10 iTunes purchase. I'm eager to see where this goes.
I like the return to a more late-90's-Radiohead sound, as Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief were nowhere near as good, in my opinion, as the preceding three albums. That said, all the songs sound pretty much the same unless you're listening closesly to them. My favorites so far are "House of Cards" and "Nude," the latter of which was on repeat for a while today. Certainly one of the top albums of 2007 thus far.
I think the biggest achievement of the album isn't musical or creative, but rather financial and systemic. The record companies have to be worried about this. If this model works, I see no reason that other established bands won't follow suit. Sure, small and new acts will still need the advertizing and PR help of a label to gain a name and fan following, but other big names, in all genres, can now bypass the labels altogether. Since they get 100% of the profits, as opposed to 20% of the gross in a top-down coprporate setup, and have very little overhead, with an all-digital format, they stand to make a lot more money per album. And though they leave it up to the fans to set their own price, most people I know are payign a reasonable amount for In Rainbows. Even is someone pays onyl a few dollars, that's straight to the artists, and I'd wager they make more with all of $2 than they do with their small cut of a $15 cd or $10 iTunes purchase. I'm eager to see where this goes.