Radiohead’s venture into releasing music without a label and without a fixed price for release has many people saying, “This is the end of record labels,”
It may well be the end for labels as we know them, but is certainly not the end of labels. RCRD LBL, a combination of Blog and record label where all music will be offered free and without Digital rights management restrictions marks an early adaptation from Downtown Records and Peter Rojas. The label intends to make money from online advertising and is sponsored by Nikon, Virgin Airlines America, and Puma AG Sneaker unit.
This is an evolutionary response from an industry feeling the pinch of Radiohead’s impact- further evidenced by Warner music group being downgraded from Neutral to sell, after a dropping from US$27 a year ago to US$8.78 in the first week of November*
It’s not just the labels that have reacted to this news. Artists, both known and unknown have replied, some like Oasis’ Liam Gallagher saying “We’ll never do a Radiohead,”**. Lily Allen named Radiohead “Arrogant,” and said, “They’ve got millions of pounds. It sends a weird message to younger bands who haven’t done as well,” Allen reasoned. “You don’t choose how to pay for eggs. Why should it be different for music?”***
In one sense Allen is right. In my social circle there are many unsigned artists who are speculating that the “Radiohead model” will make them millions. As Allen implies, these unsigned and unknown acts haven’t got the background to make such an activity feasible.
Radiohead has over twenty-one years experience in the music industry. From their early days in 1986 as “On a Friday” they have been building a massive and loyal fan base.
Before they ventured to ask their fans, “How much will you pay?” they featured on the soundtrack to Baz Luhrman’s Romeo & Juliet (Talk show host) and created one of the songs that appeared when the end credits of the same film rolled (Exit music (For a film)/ Street spirit (fade out)). “Everything in it’s right place” was both the opening song on Kid A and for Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky”; they’ve produced such hits such as “Creep”, “High and Dry” and “Paranoid Android” and albums that tore through the charts like “Kid A” and “OK Computer,”
Radiohead was a success long before “In rainbows” and EMI supported them throughout their initial development. Make no bones of it, the band had the ability, but EMI was the one with the dollars that stood behind them.
Those who resort to Issa (Jane Siberry) an example are forgetting she too had the support of labels such as, Duke Street, Open Air, Windham hill, Street, Eastside Digital, Reprise and Rhino before finally forming her own label in 2005, Sheeba records.**** Issa was supported and developed from 1988- seventeen years of growth before successfully going her own way.
So how does this relate to the band emerging from the garage and where does this new model feature in their futures?
Music is not just about good songs. Professional music is about good songs, good marketing, great press and working hand in glove with the labels- be that an independent label or a recognised commercial label.
While it’s true that labels make money out of artists, artists also get something from labels- support. It’s all well and good to have a friend who claims they can produce your record for cheap, but that friend may well not be what you need, and your friends are rarely objective in their criticism.
Perhaps if an artist can’t get signed to a label there’s a very good reason for it. What we will hopefully see from the industry is the urge to help develop and support a new generation of artists at the grass roots level; artists and labels working together for mutual success.
That said it’s all on the table and up for grabs.
Whatever path an artist takes it is an immense amount of hard work over a number of years before you reach the heights of Radiohead, Madonna, Queen and others who have won their independence. Consider the time an apprenticeship, invest your time and effort and you will succeed.
There are no over night successes that last; there is no short-cut to success.
It’s a long drawn out process of jigsaws, falling into place.
* http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9812275-7.html
** http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/mtvuk/news/14112007/383140/we_ll_never_do_a_radiohead
