It was a long time coming but when it came the idea still hit me for six. With Prince giving away his latest offering via a Sunday newspaper tabloid and the Charlatans new album soon to be available as a free download from the XFM website, Radiohead’s In Rainbows album shouldn’t be too much of a shock in comparison. The album is now available for free from their newly branded website. However, this album isn’t just free. In contrast it is you- the loyal fan, the musical connoisseur, the first time listener – who has a choice of what to pay.
Now we are faced with a moral dilemma. For the first time, we hold the fate of the band in our hands through our own philanthropy. The ‘honesty box’ on the Radiohead website allows anyone to place any amount they wish, how much they think the band deserve, how much they can afford, all in one act of swift judgment. The thing is if something is free and we are told it is free, then we have no problems in accepting it’s free. If a CD costs a tenner in the shops we often moan and grumble, but we know that certain factors have made it that price; such as CD production, the record company’s cut, the band’s cut and so on. But what they are asking us to do is to consider all that and make us decide what we deem a fair price. It’s not free; but it is if you want it to be, or if your conscience would let it be. That’s the conundrum and the internal struggle.
I haven’t tried the site out yet but already I am thinking of a price I could offer. Why can’t I just get it free I hear you ask? It’s the damn box – the opportunity of a free download is always irresistibly tempting to me, but I just can’t put three noughts in those boxes. It just doesn’t seem right. That’s the genius of it though isn’t it; when faced with the band you appreciate directly through their own domain, you just can’t rob them blind. If you download illegally through a third party I guess you could feel rather better about yourself. Maybe there are a lot of people like me out there; too gutless to say to the band that they’re stealing your music from right under your nose. It’s like trying to take the whole chocolate cake from the table before dinner when your mother isn’t looking; then to your shock and amazement, your mother returns to offer the whole cake to you willingly. We, the confused children, can only take a small slice or even nothing at all, because we think something is afoot; or we know that mother is gonna be pissed if we now decide to take the whole cake. If you have the balls to take the whole thing in her face before eating your roast dinner, I salute you.
This isn’t to say that Radiohead will shop anyone who is downloading for free. This isn’t what they want to do. To be honest though, I don’t know what they plan to do by doing this. Are they making a statement about the music industry, about how it has forgotten its real artistic roots for the sake of a quick buck? Are they trying to revolutionise the way in which we listen to our music, by further manipulating the internet and the download trend? Is Thom Yorke going off his rocker even more than usual? Probably not; my hunch is that with frontman Yorke, being as intelligent as he is, there must something we are missing here. Never one to shy away from making a bold statement, I’ve a feeling he knows exactly what he is doing with this box. I wouldn’t be surprised if this album, fully realised by the band before hand, was not up to scratch with OK Computer, Kid A or The Bends; and was subsequently a B-Side album in an A-side album guise to be given away in a sensational, traditional breaking manner. The critics have already said this album possesses no Street Spirit, no Paranoid Android, no Creep, no No Surprises. If this is the case, Yorke is conducting a very interesting social experiment; one in which I am deeply fascinated to hear about.
Is the intention to see how honest we are? A test of moral fibre if you will? Are we being prompted to think about how we conduct ourselves in obtaining our music? Surely too moralistic! I could choose to join the cynics and ask ‘is he being just plain selfish’? Going back to the whole ‘in it to stop illegal downloads and possibly make more money’ argument, touched upon briefly earlier in the child and cake scenario, if more downloads were carried out in this way, the illegal downloads would soon decrease as they would just not be needed. Bands themselves would soon be the face of the downloads, not download sites. This way, the band gets something out of it; well mainly from those who fall victim to their consciences. Oh and of course from those who are easily swayed into buying a CD and DVD twin pack made available next year for a massive £40 or so. That too.
But maybe it isn’t about tackling the problem of illegal downloading by offering an honesty box. Please excuse the egoism here, but as much as I like to think there are lots of people out there just like me, there aren’t. I would imagine that a fairly large amount of people will end up entering zilch, nada, dim byd in the In Rainbows online payment box. The question is: why pay more, when you don’t have to? That cheeky Del Boy attitude is infectious here in the UK and is something we shouldn’t necessarily be ashamed of, where a nagging, silent morality sometimes takes a back seat to make way for the financial nous. Of course, we do this in small doses to avoid the risk of becoming too obsessed with making money at whatever cost, like our friends across the Atlantic pond. For many, the cost dodging is justified in a talentless pool of mediocre music. Many people are sick of paying well over the odds for a weakly made CD these days, where albums have only one or two strong tracks.
So for those who beat the honesty box, I salute you, just like the child who took the whole cake. But remember one thing – nothing in life is free, just like the 45p album card handling fee upon placing the three zeros will clearly demonstrate.
October 1st
I could have named this post after anything remotely interesting. You all know how much I love my witty, often alliteration ridden titles. Today however I have decided to dedicate the day to the very date which it is commonly defined - October the first.
Today has been important on so many levels in the realm of current events, as newsrooms had a field day with all of these significant happenings. Today, we observed a severe hike in fuel prices, with the price of diesel topping and overtaking the pound mark. No surprise that the Haulers United will soon rise again and convoy back down the M4. Today, the Sustainable Development Commission released their report into the Severn Barrage proposal - a monumental environment 'see-saw saga' which is begging for a swift and definite solution. It is clear that this report will have a massive effect on which way this project is going to proceed, with both the government and pressure groups in locked horns over what to do. Today, the minimum legal age that one can purchase tobacco in Great Britain has become 18 - meaning that all those nicotine-addicted 16 year olds should feel cheated towards what is clearly an unsympathetic ruling, but at the same time, they should feel appreciative at the prospect of avoiding the Big C many years down the line.
Besides those events, there's been a few changes and new beginnings closer to home. Today I started my second work placement in Porthcawl, working for Sustainable Wales. Today, I looked outside my bedroom window and realised that the torrid and harsh rainfall against a darkened morning sky ended any hope of a much needed Indian Summer. Today, after work, I drove home from the seafront with the winter blues slowly coming on, despite the best attempts of Katrina and the Waves on the radio to keep me thinking of sunny Mexico only a few weeks ago. Today, I knew for the first time that summer had finally disappeared and Christmas (or should I say seasonal?) lights will soon be glowing in the hallway.
Today, I just feel different. I think I know why too. Today was also the first taste of university lectures for many newly enrolled students across the nation. Of course, the younger ones had gone back to school a month ago. The date however, isn't important. The point is - whether it is September or October in which the younger generation begin their studies, it's clear that to them the scholastic year is the calendar which just feels the most natural. January to December maybe the default year we all reflect upon and use clearly for establishing one numbered year from the other, but just like the awkward and disjointed football season runs from August to May, it feels right to treat each scholastic year the real one to plan the 'year' by. In September and October, I make plans for the next twelve months if it is possible; I certainly do not plan my year in January - and if I do, it is only the crappy New Year Resolution which I barely maintain until Valentine's Day. Even the tax year runs across two numbered years - from April to March - which is the most important timetabled record you can think of when it comes to earning your bread. So I ask - does anyone actually think of a year, as a year?
Well I don't. Therefore it makes complete sense that I decree this day, October 1st, the very first day of the year. Which means a new start and all that - quite appropriate really, considering what this day has served to represent for many students, environmentalists, smokers, SAD sufferers and lorry drivers. I say with complete and utter confidence; this day will be the first day of the rest of your life. Or failing that, can I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy new year?
Today has been important on so many levels in the realm of current events, as newsrooms had a field day with all of these significant happenings. Today, we observed a severe hike in fuel prices, with the price of diesel topping and overtaking the pound mark. No surprise that the Haulers United will soon rise again and convoy back down the M4. Today, the Sustainable Development Commission released their report into the Severn Barrage proposal - a monumental environment 'see-saw saga' which is begging for a swift and definite solution. It is clear that this report will have a massive effect on which way this project is going to proceed, with both the government and pressure groups in locked horns over what to do. Today, the minimum legal age that one can purchase tobacco in Great Britain has become 18 - meaning that all those nicotine-addicted 16 year olds should feel cheated towards what is clearly an unsympathetic ruling, but at the same time, they should feel appreciative at the prospect of avoiding the Big C many years down the line.
Besides those events, there's been a few changes and new beginnings closer to home. Today I started my second work placement in Porthcawl, working for Sustainable Wales. Today, I looked outside my bedroom window and realised that the torrid and harsh rainfall against a darkened morning sky ended any hope of a much needed Indian Summer. Today, after work, I drove home from the seafront with the winter blues slowly coming on, despite the best attempts of Katrina and the Waves on the radio to keep me thinking of sunny Mexico only a few weeks ago. Today, I knew for the first time that summer had finally disappeared and Christmas (or should I say seasonal?) lights will soon be glowing in the hallway.
Today, I just feel different. I think I know why too. Today was also the first taste of university lectures for many newly enrolled students across the nation. Of course, the younger ones had gone back to school a month ago. The date however, isn't important. The point is - whether it is September or October in which the younger generation begin their studies, it's clear that to them the scholastic year is the calendar which just feels the most natural. January to December maybe the default year we all reflect upon and use clearly for establishing one numbered year from the other, but just like the awkward and disjointed football season runs from August to May, it feels right to treat each scholastic year the real one to plan the 'year' by. In September and October, I make plans for the next twelve months if it is possible; I certainly do not plan my year in January - and if I do, it is only the crappy New Year Resolution which I barely maintain until Valentine's Day. Even the tax year runs across two numbered years - from April to March - which is the most important timetabled record you can think of when it comes to earning your bread. So I ask - does anyone actually think of a year, as a year?
Well I don't. Therefore it makes complete sense that I decree this day, October 1st, the very first day of the year. Which means a new start and all that - quite appropriate really, considering what this day has served to represent for many students, environmentalists, smokers, SAD sufferers and lorry drivers. I say with complete and utter confidence; this day will be the first day of the rest of your life. Or failing that, can I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy new year?
