Radiohead owns my soul

I'm a Radiohead junkie. I can't get enough of them. Thom Yorke is my God.

I've been waiting for their new album for what seems like a lifetime. They don't have a label, which meant that the album could be on the shelf indefinitely until they get one. I was pessimistic at best. Then I hear the good news...

Radiohead announced that they would not be signing with a label, that they are releasing the album on their own and posting their album online for donation to anyone who wants to download it. Donation? What does that mean right? Anything that you want to give for the album you can give for it. You think the album is worth 5 quid, go ahead and send that. You think its worth 60 dollars, send that along.

Are they crazy? Crazy like a fox if you ask me. They have such a huge fan base that people will give them money. I know I already did.

The band is offering a super fan kit of sorts for 80! bucks, which includes an extra enhanced CD filled with an albums worth of new songs, two records, a full book of art and photos and lyrics. Which I bought, since I am a super fan. A SUPER DUPER FAN.

Most other people might not dump that much money for one album right? But what would you pay for the download? If you're a cheap bastard, nothing. But if you like Radiohead, maybe as much as a normal CD right? Or if you hate record labels, even a few bucks more just to say screw you to the labels.

Radiohead doesn't have to share a cut of that money with anybody. They get it all. Fuck the labels, they take all the money for all the work that the band does anyway.

Radiohead is so shrewd, I wonder if more established bands are going to take this route. God it would be great if labels died a terrible death. They are part of the growing problem in the record industry that is taking a huge downswing. The labels have no idea how to handle the emerging Internet sales and downward spiral of selling actual CD units at stores.

Apparently, Radiohead has figured all of that out. Of course, I might be wrong (Radiohead song and title of this blog) I'm a junkie, maybe I'm drinking the Radiohead Kool Aide. Or maybe, there aren't enough people also tasting the sweet nectar themselves.