Free Radiohead Album (merged)

vinnyr_2

rabid wrote: »

I don't believe that such a practise would be legal.

If you take a look at the advice page you will see the following:

All you have to do is to click on the link at the bottom of one of the newsletters you’ve received from us.

Erm... so we have to get an unwanted newsletter in order to tell them we don't want the newsletter. That's ok then.

paddyrg

It would be as rare as hen's teeth for a band to get as much as £2 from each CD sold - all costs are recovered from the artists share of all sales, and promo discounts and freebies etc are very often financed from the artists share too. If Radiohead as a band get an average of 50p per download, they'll still be more or less on par or ahead of where they'd be under contract - and don't forget they'll still own 100% of the Intellectual Property (unlike practically all record company deals) which is a big thing for a recording group to be able to do.

If it's a good album (which is likely), then buy the box set, or see them live (very good live, by the way), or chuck them £2 and everyone will be happy :-)

rabid

vinnyr wrote: »

Erm... so we have to get an unwanted newsletter in order to tell them we don't want the newsletter. That's ok then.

If you are interested in Radiohead perhaps the newsletter may actually be of benefit to you. I am on the mailing list for a few bands, and the newsletters have often been beneficial - in one case even receiving discounts on new sales, and free downloads.

You stated that there was "no option to opt out"; I was merely pointing out that this appears not to be the case. I think this needs to be documented, rather than more users being misinformed.

b33r

Free for me,

I certainly would not have bought it, or attempted to get it illegally as it isn't really in my genre of music. But I'll listen to it and if I like it, ill keep it and look at purchasing some of their previous work.

So what have they lost from me? Nothing. I think it's a great idea from them. If every artist did it the ones I know I'm probably going to like I would pay for but i refuse to give £9.98 to a production company and a few pence to a band as has been happening for years.

[Deleted User]

Well I must say this is a great idea and I really hope Radiohead make a big profit. Good on those of you who paid. I'll certainly be wishing them well as I listen to my $0 album.

robinfq

I'd just like to clear up a few points regarding the amount an artist generally receives from a CD.

An artist can usually reckon on receiving about 12p per CD.

This can change slightly depending on the various contracts involved, but I have never known it to be as high as £2.00, which seems to be the figure many people on here are claiming.

So, basically, taking costs into account (bearing in mind that there is no record label so, although their 80-90% mark-up has gone, the production costs will now be borne by the artist), anything over about 40p is perfectly reasonable, and would still leave the band with the same amount as if it were a CD released by a major label and distributed through high street stores.

TonyIce

robinfq wrote: »

An artist can usually reckon on receiving about 12p per CD.

This can change slightly depending on the various contracts involved, but I have never known it to be as high as £2.00, which seems to be the figure many people on here are claiming.

And let's not forget that in most cases a band must recoup production costs first, all of which goes back to the label until the balance is cleared. It can take a long time for that to happen, depending on circumstances, so the artist may not see a penny for years.

I'm posting this link again, because I think it's more relevant now and makes for interesting reading:

http://www.mercenary.com/probwitmusby.html

sarah84

Surely anyone whos a fan would want to make sure the band got something for the album? I think its a bit unfair to take advantage and pay nothing, not many bands would do something like letting you choose your price. Just my opinion though!

TonyIce

sarah84 wrote: »

Surely anyone whos a fan would want to make sure the band got something for the album?

Not meaning to be dismissive here, but why just fans? Following that logic surely anyone at all interested in music and / or fair play should give something? It's not practical to see it in those terms.

Maybe you've proved your own point, and we can say that those who paid nothing aren't true fans, those who paid greater-than-nothing are fans. But where does that leave us? Does that mean those who spend 1p can count themselves fans? Maybe those who pay £2 can, but anyone paying £1.99 can't. Where is the line drawn? How about those who believe that this is a revolutionary move by the band and perhaps believe that, at least in this case, acquiring the music for nothing should be encouraged and is in the band's best interests?

Once again, I'm not necessarily saying I disagree and I don't mean to seem like I'm attacking your argument, I just think this whole thing is pretty complex and we have a real chance to explore the depths. This all points to a wider issue.

sarah84 wrote: »

I think its a bit unfair to take advantage and pay nothing

It's only "taking advantage" in the sense that the consumer has been offered an option, many of us "take advantage" of offers left, right and centre every day. Getting "OK Computer" from an illegal download site is taking advantage.

sarah84 wrote: »

not many bands would do something like letting you choose your price.

Or at least, they haven't yet. Or, wouldn't be able to under the terms of a contract. Here lies a major part of the problem.

I bet we'll see a few bands doing the same thing very soon.

kohoutec

vinnyr wrote: »

Erm... so we have to get an unwanted newsletter in order to tell them we don't want the newsletter. That's ok then.

A couple of things...firstly, I've been on the Radiohead mailing list for years and they don't spam you, or pass on your details. I've probably had 3 or 4 emails from them in the last year, all which were worth receiving. Secondly...as has already been mentioned, if you're a genuine fan then the mailings will be of interest to you. If, however you're just downloading the album because it can be got for free, well, you don't actually have to download it, and even if you decide to do so there's nothing stopping you giving them a secondary email address if you're worried. I can't believe people are slagging the band off for what they're doing. How many other bands, shops, or organizations are doing anything like this? (and yes, I know about the Charlatans).