Valleywag
Two weeks after Radiohead asked fans to pay only what they like before downloading their new album "In Rainbows," financial numbers are beginning to surface. So are the bloated carcasses of record labels. Why? Because though Radiohead will release the album on CD and with a label early next year, the band has—by all accounts—already cleaned up without having to share a pound.
According to one source close to the band, reports The Seminal, fans downloaded 1.2 million copies of "In Rainbows" through October 12, two days after its release. But you already knew Radiohead had a large fan base.
What nobody knew was whether fans would pay for a Radiohead album if they didn't have to. Certainly, the record labels had to be hoping they wouldn't. Too bad for the fat cats, because reports are that the average price paid for "In Rainbows" fell between $5 and $8. A low estimate of Radiohead's take in two days is $6 million. Sounds like bands with a following now have permission to skip labels.
Comments
I'm no fan of the major labels but these predictions are BS (at least for the near future). Established bans may be able to pull this off but new acts have no chance without the labels.
New acts have a chance with record labels?
Yeah, new acts have a chance with record labels.
Look at Colbie Caillat. Two years ago she was working at a tanning salon. She uploads a couple of music videos to MySpace and 2.5 million plays later, she's touring like crazy on the heels of her first album. And her music is nothing special: just super-safe sorority-girl pop fluff.
A major label gives her the leverage and marketing muscle to book one bigass tour, including international venues.
But aren't you then saying MySpace and YouTube made her, not a record label?
Yeah, CV. Not exactly a compelling argument.
Sounds like she needs a tour company, not a full-fledged record label.
The record label gets her onto the playlists of Top 40 radio stations. While her MySpace presence has been very impressive, I don't think it's enough to turn an unknown name into a household name. It is good enough to probably get the attention of some record labels.
I'm not sure if hiring one tour company is sufficient unless you're someone like Madonna.
So where are the successful acts coming from if not the labels? There are tons of bands out there with their own web sites and playing local gigs but really, if you want national (and international) attention, you need the labels. The bands just don't have the knowledge or resources to make it happen. I'm not pro-label, at least not with the way they operate but to think that they are going to go away any time soon is delusional.
I think maybe the answer is Pandora's plan to create a musicians' middle class.
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