New Radiohead In Rainbows Out October 10th

posted this last week. looks like the name change is the only thing i didn't get right.

i work at a vinyl pressing plant and we've been pressing up copies of radiohead's "tryptych" this past week. our biggest order yet. put two and two together and you'll see that this is counting down to the online-only release of lp7 followed a week or two later by the vinyl release. no cd packaging going to waste. just like thom wanted. except with a shitty album name.

Posted by: Colm at September 30, 2007 8:05 PM | Reply
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no streaming mp3's?!?!!?

WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF BLOG IS THIS!!

:)

Posted by: Stephan at September 30, 2007 8:05 PM | Reply
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omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg

Posted by: Jack at September 30, 2007 8:21 PM | Reply
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i just shit my pants

Posted by: anon at September 30, 2007 8:22 PM | Reply
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this is the most insane thing ever.

Posted by: corey at September 30, 2007 8:25 PM | Reply
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talk about the least unsuspecting thing of the year

Posted by: Apexa at September 30, 2007 8:25 PM | Reply
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yeah, too bad the pound anally rapes the dollar and that whole set is like $80

Posted by: sug at September 30, 2007 8:30 PM | Reply
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pretty epic...they really are on a whole other level.

Posted by: matt at September 30, 2007 8:31 PM | Reply
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this is great, and in some ways a great marketing scheme. some albums leak months in advance but with only a 10 day period i doubt it will leak in advance and people will jump all over it and buy it.

Kudos Radiohead, I look forward to the 10th.

Posted by: Brian at September 30, 2007 8:35 PM | Reply
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Sorry, no MP3s for you guys. Free desktop wallpapers, though, if anyone wants to look for hidden messages:

http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture01.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture02.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture03.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture04.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture05.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture06.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture07.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture08.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture09.jpg
http://www.inrainbows.com/Content/Picture10.jpg

Posted by: scott at September 30, 2007 8:36 PM | Reply
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^ what does this mean

Posted by: justin at September 30, 2007 8:37 PM | Reply
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anyone else notice how the digital download option is a suggested donation. brilliant.

Posted by: jason at September 30, 2007 8:57 PM | Reply
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I fucking hate the word "epic".

Posted by: JAck at September 30, 2007 9:02 PM | Reply
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What...the...fuck....

thinking outside the box, for sure.

Posted by: Julia at September 30, 2007 9:02 PM | Reply
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hope they'll share download/donation stats a month in, silent auctions for high UK art.

Posted by: butter team blog at September 30, 2007 9:04 PM | Reply
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I'm so jaded, the first time I saw this I was sure it was fake.

Anyways, ecstatic that the whole "2008-release" was just a clever ruse. I think I'll make the discbox a Christmas present for myself.

Posted by: Peregrine at September 30, 2007 9:04 PM | Reply
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Well this is fucking genius. Only Radiohead could pull off something like this. Transcending the entire music buisness and jsut doing whatever they want.

Posted by: Phil at September 30, 2007 9:36 PM | Reply
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this is amazing!!

Posted by: noal at September 30, 2007 9:38 PM | Reply
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Nice.

But just to justify the whole deal, would someone mind posing a video of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up", just for shits and giggles?

DwD

Posted by: Dw Dunphy at September 30, 2007 9:41 PM | Reply
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This CD is worth 0 pounds to me. Can't wait till the the tenth. hahahaha, fuck you radiohead. I do not feel guilty.

Posted by: hahah! at September 30, 2007 9:48 PM | Reply
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Nice...the album art reminds me of Friend Opportunity on the front and Person Pitch on the back...also looks a little gay :)

Posted by: EnchantingWizardofRythm at September 30, 2007 9:48 PM | Reply
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im gonna rubb one out while looking at that discbox pic

Posted by: shane at September 30, 2007 9:49 PM | Reply
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10 days of utter pain..

Posted by: jugs mcgee at September 30, 2007 9:51 PM | Reply
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It's also important to note that this item will run American fans $82.00 plus shipping and handling at current exchange rates...

...and the dollar keeps dropping in value.

Thanks Radiohead.
DwD

Posted by: Dw Dunphy at September 30, 2007 9:52 PM | Reply
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DwD,

Read a little before you complain. Shipping / Handling are included with the order.

Now you can complain about the exchange rate.

Posted by: thepoop at September 30, 2007 9:56 PM | Reply
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Paying nothing is lame.

Posted by: Dallas at September 30, 2007 9:58 PM | Reply
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Okay, so I jumped the gun. Still, there was no way the band could have arranged a US depot to cut their American fans a little slack? A little KY to slather 'round the wallet hole so this purchase won't be quite as painful?

I hate to say it, but I'm gonna need a few days just to find out where this fan really stands.

DwD

Posted by: Dw Dunphy at September 30, 2007 10:02 PM | Reply
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Eh, $80 is horriffic in some ways....but, I think Tom's probably getting a laugh out of seeing us pay this much for the album. I mean, this IS what happens when your leader takes your country into such great debt that the currency freefalls. It happened to the UK about 15 years ago. That's how George Soros made a good chunk of his fortune.
But I'd much rather pay $80 to Radiohead directly than to EMI.

Posted by: anonymous at September 30, 2007 10:09 PM | Reply
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1) holyfuckingshit
2) my guess is that it will be available in retail stores (in a more conventional cd package) in december because they don't ship till then.
3) omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg
4) don't complain about the price. many of us are more than willing to pay that much for a double LP, plus double CD, plus artwork, etc.
5) album of the year, bitches.

Posted by: christian at September 30, 2007 10:11 PM | Reply
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holy shit. this can't be real. can it?

Posted by: fatso at September 30, 2007 10:19 PM | Reply
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I will say that this is a pretty comprehensive collection and that all the folks who are planning to "drop a wooden nickel in the poor-box" ought to be ashamed.

On the upside, I think we can honestly say we're seeing the new business model in action. The fans already know - nothing more than a webnote was passed to advertise it. Nothing more than a site is prepped to sell it. We all know now and it's, what, 10:00 US E.S.T.? It would never work with a group with a lesser fanbase, at least not yet, but all the frittering about what label would be crowned king seems pale now.

Yeah. I guess I'm going to be saving a few extra bucks aside this week.
DwD

Posted by: Dw Dunphy at September 30, 2007 10:19 PM | Reply
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have people begun to get waste confirmations just yet? just ordered about a half hour ago...

Posted by: matt at September 30, 2007 10:35 PM | Reply
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Why only include the second disc in the discbox? They're just asking for people to go and download it illegally. If it included the whole thing, I might have given them a few bucks, but not for half the album.

Posted by: Adam at September 30, 2007 10:54 PM | Reply
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This might be a stupid question. But if you're ordering from the US does it convert the amount when checking out, when you buy the digital download? I.e. do I have to do anything special to buy it from in the US?

Posted by: ShynessIsNice at September 30, 2007 10:54 PM | Reply
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oh my god, life is suddenly so sweet again

Posted by: doug e. jones at September 30, 2007 10:58 PM | Reply
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Adam, the second disc is of extras (b-sides), the first disc is the actual record.

Posted by: Chris at September 30, 2007 11:17 PM | Reply
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If you buy the discbox, do you get to download the bonus disc on October 10?

Posted by: Joe at September 30, 2007 11:37 PM | Reply
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There is no way in hell that this album won't see an official store release. I promise you that even if this initial purchase is the only means of obtaining a copy of the album, you will be able to pick it up off of a shelf soon enough.

But kudos to Radiohead for giving the biggest fuck you to the modern music industry I've seen yet.

Posted by: Ju Bean at September 30, 2007 11:41 PM | Reply
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This is incredible. Absolutely incredible. I have no idea what to say. This is abosolutely the coolest thing any band has ever done. Radiohead are the greatest band of all time. I mean good lord, if you told me that, I dont know, like the fucking decemberists or something, wwere releasing an album out of nowhere 10 days from now i'd be pumped. but damn, this is radiohead. oh and let's just mention the whole choosing the price of the download thing. this is so cool. I believe that In Rainbows is going to save music. both in terms of the actual art they create and in how the approach the entire business. I love this band.

Posted by: Chris Davis at October 1, 2007 12:04 AM | Reply
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First this, then Okkervil River live on NPR...best birthday ever.

I'm more than willing to go the extra mile and drop $80 on the box set. Break it down like this:
Double CD album = $20
Double vinyl album = $20-25
Artwork (assuming it's substantial) = $20
Putting it all in a fancy box set = $10?
Shipping from UK = around $15/20?

Posted by: Cherry Ghost at October 1, 2007 12:07 AM | Reply
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Major kudos to Radiohead for an incredibly wicked idea that is causing people to lose their shit worldwide. THAT is how you enter contract talks with labels.

Posted by: Sean at October 1, 2007 12:15 AM | Reply
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yesssss. i have been waiting for this for so long. and 10/10 is my birthday. what a fucking fantastic gift this shall be.

Posted by: nancy at October 1, 2007 12:16 AM | Reply
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I bought the discbox and gladly paid $80. Not only will I get the album on the 10th, but a nice set later with 2CD's and 2LP's. Good stuff.

Posted by: schmanker at October 1, 2007 12:41 AM | Reply
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The internet caused the record labels to lose complete control of the distribution chain. How many free-standing record stores are there? Branson couldn't even make it work in the heart of Hollywood with Virgin. What's great about this process is it spells out to smaller bands how you might make a living moving data as opposed to printing CDs and sourcing a contract from a label. That which has an audience can sell anyway it pleases.

Posted by: 818state at October 1, 2007 1:00 AM | Reply
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the FUTURE is finally here!!!!

Posted by: polyesterday at October 1, 2007 1:13 AM | Reply
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Bodysnatchers is on the album! Raaaah!

Posted by: Tom at October 1, 2007 1:31 AM | Reply
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now you guys can't do the premature evaluation for in rainbows.

Posted by: matt b at October 1, 2007 1:33 AM | Reply
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Zing!

Posted by: Kevin at October 1, 2007 2:38 AM | Reply
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http://wintersox.blogspot.com/search?q=fair+warning

I don't know. 4 Minute Warning. 4, that's FAIR. In quote marks, 4 the party before. You know it. Here Comes the Party People.

Posted by: blindmind at October 1, 2007 3:04 AM | Reply
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Oh Boo-hoo America. Think about us poor souls in the Southern Hemisphere with our super-mega weak currencies and massive shipping costs!

That said I am still gonna buy the discbox. Still the most important band in the world today, hands down.

Weird Fishes? I hope Arpeggi turns out okay!

Posted by: Jono at October 1, 2007 3:16 AM | Reply
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Anyone pre-order the download yet? Do you really pick your own price, or is this mysterious "transaction fee" something they tack on at the checkout? If it's really pick-your-own-price, I'd gladly pay for it like a regular album. The whole concept is just too freaking awesome.

Posted by: Chris Scales at October 1, 2007 3:53 AM | Reply
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Yep, really pick your own price. Pretty great... looks like they're testing the old "people will pay for it if it's available and reasonably priced" argument against the record companies,

Posted by: buildingonfire at October 1, 2007 4:06 AM | Reply
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so, have any of you cheapskates actually entered 0.00 for the download, and did it work?

Posted by: HATER at October 1, 2007 4:19 AM | Reply
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Yeah i paid zero dollars.. but that's b/c i don't have a credit card... my brother is buying 2 of the box sets one for me and one for him... zero dollars works perfectly and you don't need a credit card... this way i will get my download though in 10 days

Posted by: HeyBulldog at October 1, 2007 4:26 AM | Reply
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this is very very cool, and i love radiohead, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here... this doesn't really change anything much, the only reason they can do this is that they are one of the biggest bands in the world, with one of the most obsessive fanbases... doesn't change anything for all of those kids playing in garages and such, unfortunately the middleman (stores, itunes etc) is gonna be around for a while longer. that said, fucking ace!

Posted by: 1956andallthat at October 1, 2007 4:40 AM | Reply
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I think Radiohead are doing some monumental here, but some people say if they had Radiohead's money, they wouldn't care about sales either. There's a poll on pollsb.com about this new Radiohead move, check it out.
http://www.pollsb.com/polls/poll/2551/radiohead-to-release-new-album-in-rainbows-strictly-online-and-offer-digital-downloads-for-name-your-own-price-donation

Posted by: kipp at October 1, 2007 6:20 AM | Reply
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Everybody and their mother must be ordering this right now because the site is crawling along at a snail's pace.

Posted by: Greyscale at October 1, 2007 9:25 AM | Reply
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The real question I have is what quality the download will be. I can't imagine someone like Radiohead compressing the crap out of some mp3s for us. Hopefully it's lossless.

Posted by: Rumsfeld's Slippers at October 1, 2007 9:30 AM | Reply
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I have always loved radiohead, and this "fuck you" to the labels just puts them over the top. They're going to make money off this, probably a considerable amount. I don't know of too many bands that could assume the risk of producing ten thousand (how many do we really think they made?) 2lp/2cd/art box sets with their own cash without expecting to file for bankruptcy. Radiohead's problem is that they'll sell too quickly and the ebay value will far outstrip their initial asking price. I guess it beats paying Timbaland a hundred grand to produce your single. Further, I think putting the album out by donation is genius. If they average three bucks a downloaded copy they're still doing better than most bands whose fans just limewire the whole record. Oh, and since there's no label, and they're using their own servers for distribution, there's going to be alot of profit. Even if I'm underestimating the amount of capital investment going on, this whole scheme just makes sense. I know it sounds like I'm just another starry eyed kid who's fawning over Radiohead on a random blog (no offense Stereogum), but really I think this could be a reasonably important moment for the music business.

Posted by: AG at October 1, 2007 9:53 AM | Reply
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Also it is great to see House of Cards on the tracklist...one of my favorites from Bonnaroo.

I work at a PR firm and we are talking about how brilliant this is from a publicity standpoint.

I love Radiohead.

Posted by: Chris Davis at October 1, 2007 9:58 AM | Reply
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totally looks like person pitch. without the awesome collages. or the good music.

Posted by: zzzz at October 1, 2007 10:02 AM | Reply
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Where my "Spooks" at? On the one hand, I hope they changed the title and recorded a studio version... On the other hand, with only ten tracks on the album, I hope a two-minute instrumental isn't one of them.

Posted by: The Dan at October 1, 2007 10:11 AM | Reply
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lol, fuck you it hasn't come out yet.

Posted by: jack at October 1, 2007 10:15 AM | Reply
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this is the beginning of the end of record labels

Posted by: Capt Rock at October 1, 2007 10:28 AM | Reply
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don't be surprised if they wind up with some sort of major lable affiliation before its all over.

Posted by: HATER at October 1, 2007 10:37 AM | Reply
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sooooooo fucking ecstatic!
i kinda like the 'In Rainbows' title - simple yet flamboyant
so happy that 'Reckoner' is on here - PA! PA! PA!
also very intrigued about 'Faust Arp' and 'Jigsaw Puzzle Falling into Place' whether they are brand new never before played songs, or just changed the title of 2006 live songs

either way, FUCK. YAH.

Posted by: matt P at October 1, 2007 10:43 AM | Reply
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That link leads me nowhere. Am I dumb?

Posted by: Jib at October 1, 2007 10:45 AM | Reply
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This is really happening.

Posted by: internet gangsta at October 1, 2007 10:49 AM | Reply
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I see the order link is now gone :(

Posted by: Dayne at October 1, 2007 10:51 AM | Reply
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hope they track/report average donations a month in - would be interesting to see what people coughed up

Posted by: butter team blog at October 1, 2007 10:54 AM | Reply
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Oooh 40 pounds, as a Canadian this gives me a chance to cash in on our awesome dollar. A year ago, this record would've been so much more expensive. Good timing Radiohead.

Posted by: Peter at October 1, 2007 10:57 AM | Reply
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I'm with you Jib. I can only get it to go to the "in rainbows" frontpage, and from there the only link is to Dead Air Space. Can't find the purchase option....

Posted by: neal at October 1, 2007 11:00 AM | Reply
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No more order link? But I wanted to pre-order like a good little consumer should. ;(

Posted by: neal at October 1, 2007 11:17 AM | Reply
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Buying this download is a nightmare so far. First I had no security code, then there was a security code but it said what I entered didn't match. Then, that was $5.00 mysteriously added to the total. Anyone remember when Prince tried to sell that "Crystal Ball" album on his own? Also a nightmare.

Posted by: Adam at October 1, 2007 11:23 AM | Reply
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So... Does that mean they already sold out of box sets? Was there a problem with the site because everyone and god preordered this thing?

Posted by: Jesse at October 1, 2007 11:26 AM | Reply
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It works fine for me.

Posted by: Chris at October 1, 2007 11:35 AM | Reply
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This is a fantastic idea. I've been waiting for a major band to give a big FUCK YOU to the record industry and this is fantastic.

Seriously, I respect Radiohead and don't want to be a dick and put £0.00 (but who's gonna know . . . ?). So I think I'm going to "donate" a ha'penny. Actually, I've settled on £3.00. The "advice" page says a "45 pence bank charge may be incurred" which means about another $1.00 US. So that brings it up to almost what AmazonMP3 would charge for an album ($8.99).

What are you guys going to pay for it?

As people stated on here already, they will likely release an actual disc here in the US. God forbid if Target and Wal-Mart don't have this for the holidays, there will be hell to pay!

Posted by: hijeffinition at October 1, 2007 11:35 AM | Reply
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This move will play on the psyche of an entire generation of people that have used the web as their main channel of discovering new music. I just hope that when this is all said and done, Radiohead will release the figures of what the average person actually paid. These numbers will make every label in the world shit themselves. Well, maybe.
Also, this move will raise questions about the seeming slap in the face to record stores. At first, I really thought that indie stores would be super pissed and burn Radiohead records in the streets. Well, not so fast. If you stop and think about it, this entire packaging scheme actually drives the value through the fucking roof because Radiohead fans will absolutely go to stores to purchase this uber-cd release. I hope indie record stores take a deep breath before they start smashing Radiohead records in the aisles. With an actual product of value and uniqueness, Radiohead may actually have an incredibly positive impact on driving traffic to record stores. Everything just changed. In the not so distant future, just putting an album out on CD in a jewel case will no longer be enough. Could the box set be the future of physical products? Holy shit.

The last bit is the utter disregard of lead time in press. They are totally avoiding leaks by putting this out all at once. When I first started thinking about this, my immediate concern was that, with no press time, who the hell is going to write about it and review it? It was at this point that I logged into my RSS feed reader to see if anyone was writing about it. Every music blog in the world had a bit about it. It is a music press coup unlike anything the world has ever seen. Most notable and interesting of all, Billboard didn't have a post up about it when I first logged in. Only music blogs. Fans of music. Mainstream press, the folks the industry as a whole is aiming to please is now on the backside playing catch-up.

Posted by: Josh Preston at October 1, 2007 11:35 AM | Reply
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Ugh. Their server must be completely overloaded. I've tried placing my order about 5 times now and it keeps getting rejected. Damn.

Posted by: Ditto at October 1, 2007 11:36 AM | Reply
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Nice points, Josh. While I think the impact of Radiohead's move on the distribution status-quo is easy to overestimate (see Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), it is ballsy and awesome nonetheless.

Posted by: matt at October 1, 2007 12:08 PM | Reply
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Yeah payed 0.00 but it's because i have no credit card, i was settled for around 3/4 pounds to try out, but than came the CC information, i just wanted to paypal it, oh well tough luck. if it's good (and probably it will be) I'll just get the set.

Posted by: Frank at October 1, 2007 12:17 PM | Reply
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I'm not sure if it was mentioned, but the 40 pounds price INCLUDES shipping. So there.

Posted by: Shaun at October 1, 2007 12:20 PM | Reply
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It doesn't matter how much Radiohead makes from the record sales. They'll end up charging $60+ for concert tickets anyway. I'd still pay that much anyway. What a huge fuck you to Smashing Pumpkins, two different tracks at Target and Best Buy. I am sad to say I'm from Chicago

Posted by: Mikey P at October 1, 2007 12:37 PM | Reply
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Mikey,

You're stretching with that Pumpkins reference. They were already signed to a label, and it was the label's choice (and right) to try to generate extra sales that way, whether we agree with it or not. Plus, Radiohead weren't broken up for 7 years and gone from the mainstream listener's memory.

It would be like complaining how I want the Radiohead B-sides, but that it's a ripoff to pay $80 to get them. Everyone knows, including the band, that you'll easily be able to find those songs online once the boxset is released.

But you're spot on with the $60 tickets.

Posted by: Ryan at October 1, 2007 12:59 PM | Reply
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I can't even get onto ateaseweb! It's Pandemonium! We are experiencing total
meltdown! Quick! Run to the nuclear shelter!

Posted by: ulteriordf at October 1, 2007 1:02 PM | Reply
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If you enter -10.00 (negative) for your suggested payment, it'll actually add money to your credit card.

Radiohead's set up it severly flawed.

Posted by: k at October 1, 2007 1:11 PM | Reply
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Now if they can tour without Ticketmaster...

Posted by: pape at October 1, 2007 1:22 PM | Reply
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AHHH!! Superlative!!! Hyperbole!!! Exaggeration!!!

Posted by: Sean at October 1, 2007 1:22 PM | Reply
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.. k?

did it actually just add 10$ to your account?

so maybe it's flawed, or maybe they don't care?
Hm.. that's insane.