Radiohead too good for iTunes, but O.C. OK.

kavika411

kavika411

macrumors 6502a
For anyone keeping score of Radiohead's sanctimonious reasons for not putting their music on iTunes (e.g. their music must be listened to as a whole, it is art, etc.), apparently the money offered to them to have "Like Spinning Plates" wh*red out on last night's episode of The O.C. was sufficient.
 
Radiohead :rolleyes:

Real fans will buy the whole album anyway and experience it as it was meant to be, why should they force casual listeners who don't give a crap to buy something they don't want?
 
They're so good they can do whatever they want and i don't mind. Even if they offered it on iTunes, I would still buy the hard copy, one of the few bands i would do that for. I think most fans would also.
 
I guess in the end it's about marketing. Hell if they can test the waters by bastardizing some song on some show that has met it's end already after a few short years then I say let em if that means they'll bring their other music to the masses. As far as their decision not to put their songs on itunes thinking that the people would not get the drift if they listen to tracks out of line and such then they're stupid because itunes can set things up so that you have to buy an entire album...I've seen it happen before.
 
It's true, Radiohead albums are best listened to in track order, I guess it's just to stop people downloading 'Creep' and thinking they're a one-hit-wonder band. :rolleyes:
 
Given Thom Yorkes rather volatile relationship with his song 'Creep' - especially in the US - then this is no surprise.

I do actually agree with Thom insofar as some albums simply sound better if you listen to the album right through. But the type of people who were likely to buy just a single of iTunes were unlikely to buy the full album anyway, so it's kind of a pointless protestation anyway.
 
It seems like a really lame reason not to be on iTunes :rolleyes:, people should be allowed to listen to their music however they like, I certainly never listen in album order.
 
Eraserhead said:
It seems like a really lame reason not to be on iTunes :rolleyes:, people should be allowed to listen to their music however they like, I certainly never listen in album order.
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IMO, OK Computer is a true album, not just a compilation of songs like so many other bands throw together...the songs are good alone, but amazing together
 
I use iTunes and have bought lots of albums/songs from it and enjoy it. That being said:

Radiohead's albums are meant to be listened all the way through, not just a track here and there. And until the iTunes Store provides higher quality encoding I would not even want to download any Radiohead songs from it....which I wouldn't need to anyway b/c I own everything they've ever released and tons of bootleg songs and videos.
 
I think Radiohead can do whatever they want with their music, without explaining anything to anyone.
You like them, you buy their records.
You don't, spend your money in another way.
 
sofila said:
I think Radiohead can do whatever they want with their music, without explaining anything to anyone.
You like them, you buy their records.
You don't, spend your money in another way.
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I completely agree. If you love Radiohead, you've already got their albums. If you're looking to get into their music, buy The Bends (their first great album IMO) and go from there.

Also, Thom isn't anti-iTunes, check this out here and here.
 
kavika411 said:
For anyone keeping score of Radiohead's sanctimonious reasons for not putting their music on iTunes (e.g. their music must be listened to as a whole, it is art, etc.), apparently the money offered to them to have "Like Spinning Plates" wh*red out on last night's episode of The O.C. was sufficient.
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Wow, people in Alabama have actually heard of Radiohead? I thought you guys just picked banjos and slammed tin cans together.
 
You are right about us Alabamians, chicagdan, except that we don't have banjos yet; we are limited to banging tin can around. We have hope, however, that Peter Cetera's solo show will be coming by the ampitheater down by the river some time this year.

That aside, and in response to many of the above postings addressing my original posting, allow me to say two things: First, I have every Radiohead album, every single and about 25 Radiohead boots. Second, if they list their music on iTunes, they can elect to allow buyers to only buy albums as a whole. Third, regarding the download quality - well, you've got me there; 128 does in fact blow.

The reason that I - as a Radiohead fan like no other, having seen them a dozen times live - take issue with them, is because Yorke championed the internet distribution of music back in the day, especially around the time of napster. Once Apple made it cool and popular to buy from the iTunes store, he changed his mind. Just as he used to have the Apple logo on his guitar before Apple's resurgence.

The good news is that if the latest O.C. soundtrack comes onto the iTunes store, 12 year olds can buy it along with the new Britney.

I can worship their music, and still call them out for being hypocrites.
 
kavika411 said:
You are right about us Alabamians, chicagdan, except that we don't have banjos yet; we are limited to banging tin can around. We have hope, however, that Peter Cetera's solo show will be coming by the ampitheater down by the river some time this year.

That aside, and in response to many of the above postings addressing my original posting, allow me to say two things: First, I have every Radiohead album, every single and about 25 Radiohead boots. Second, if they list their music on iTunes, they can elect to allow buyers to only buy albums as a whole. Third, regarding the download quality - well, you've got me there; 128 does in fact blow.

The reason that I - as a Radiohead fan like no other, having seen them a dozen times live - take issue with them, is because Yorke championed the internet distribution of music back in the day, especially around the time of napster. Once Apple made it cool and popular to buy from the iTunes store, he changed his mind. Just as he used to have the Apple logo on his guitar before Apple's resurgence.

The good news is that if the latest O.C. soundtrack comes onto the iTunes store, 12 year olds can buy it along with the new Britney.

I can worship their music, and still call them out for being hypocrites.
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I bought OK Computer on iTunes the first week that Apple went live with it ... they pulled that off pretty fast. What I don't understand is this ... Yorke's The Eraser is sold on iTunes. So how can he be the impediment to Radiohead selling on iTunes? Are we certain that he's the roadblock? Perhaps other band members are the ones complaining and he's just voicing their concerns publicly.
 
Good point, chicagdan. I honestly didn't think about it that way. Regardless, there is still some meat-head in or near Radiohead who thinks he/she knows better than the iTunes customer exactly how and when and under what conditions a person becomes worthy of listening to their music. (Again, that sentence is coming from someone who owns and worships EVERYTHING they have put out.)
 
kavika411 said:
Good point, chicagdan. I honestly didn't think about it that way. Regardless, there is still some meat-head in or near Radiohead who thinks he/she knows better than the iTunes customer exactly how and when and under what conditions a person becomes worthy of listening to their music. (Again, that sentence is coming from someone who owns and worships EVERYTHING they have put out.)
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My guess is that Radiohead will be in the digital download business soon, either with their own mp3-based, non-DRM system or in iTunes as part of a new contract with a major label. They're currently without a recording contract and have a nearly-finished album, putting them in the best possible negotiating position. They've even threatened to self publish if they don't get the right deal. My guess is that holding onto the online digital rights is another negotiating point. Once they get a new label, I bet the entire Radiohead catalogue goes onto their own site or iTunes ... it all depends on the money.
 
Yeah, screw an artist who isn't willing to compromise....

I'm pretty sure getting placed on the OC was the record company's decision, not Radiohead's. Very few bands get say over how their records are distributed, or if songs are used for commercials and the like.

Do remember the Foo Fighters had a song used by the Republican Party while actively campaigning for John Kerry in 2004.


Artists, most of the time, don't have control over their music. Radiohead exercising that control by not going on iTunes is a victory for the artist and for the medium. Albums are created as a whole. More props to them if they're doing it as a lash out against DRM - I wish all artists had the control to do this.
 
D*mn, chicagdan. You've done some homework on this. Seriously.

I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt - that it was about sound quality. Given the fact that, as you point out, they are for sale in Europe, I go back to my original point. They are simply hypocrites and/or money grubbing jack*sses. (Once again, I point out for those just joining us and not reading this entire thread, I am someone who owns everything they've release, plus 20+ bootlegs and have seen them live a dozen times. I've earned the right to call them out.)
 
kavika411 said:
They are simply hypocrites and/or money grubbing jack*sses.
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Hypocrites, without question. The money grubbing part ... I'm less judgmental than you. The music business is notorious for ripping off artists ... even the biggest acts typically make little or nothing on the actual recordings, they make the lion's share of their money on touring and merchandizing. Why? Because the cost of creating the recording is subtracted from the royalties. For a big, ambitious band like Radiohead, the recording costs are staggering. Those string sections on songs like "How To Disappear Completely" don't come cheap.

Now, Thom Yorke could go solo tomorrow and have a very lucrative career ... but as for the rest of the band, this is it, this is the only money they're likely to make in their lifetimes. They need to make the most of it. And so if they're holding back digital rights as a way of getting leverage on their next recording contract (or perhaps releasing the digital versions themselves), I'm okay with that.

Because, in the end, Radiohead understands that they have to give their best customers -- guys like you and me -- every opportunity to spend more money on them. And because they're dour revolutionaries (and I probably wouldn't love them so much if they weren't) they feel obliged to blaze a path for other artists hoping to get the most from their recordings too.
 
They are full of it

Radiohead is so full of themselves. Please. Pink Floyd and others should be listened all the way through and they are offered on Itunes. Radiohead IS a one hit wonder. Get over it.
 
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