Daily Marauder

RADIOHEAD STRIKES BACK:

HOW DO MUSIC LABELS FARE IN THIS DIGITAL AGE?

The long-suffering music business took a hit last week when British powerhouse, alt-indie band Radiohead left their music label and iTunes behind releasing their 8th studio album In Rainbows online with a choose-your-own pricetag attached to it.

Outselling this week’s Billboard chart topper Bruce Springsteen 3-1, Radiohead forfeited chart prospects for total ownership of their master tapes, publishing and therefore the ability to release the album themselves. The music industry can probably breathe a small sigh of relief, however, as not many artists can do what Radiohead did. There’s a very specific artist/fan online relationship that Radiohead established years ago by constantly blogging (http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/) about virtually everything including the production process of In Rainbows.

For this round however:

Radiohead: 1

Music Label Goliath: 0

Radiohead’s Blog Site

(http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1571936/20071015/index.jhtml 10/16)