A ReSounding Success

Two pieces of music news for you. Firstly, the results of Radiohead's distribution experiment seem to have paid off, regardless of what the print media has to say. (I'd be surprised if 40% of people paid for their newspaper if it was offered up gratis.) Still, Edward Hunter, an analyst from comScore, called it "a resounding success for Radiohead and music fans everywhere". I feel inclined to agree. All the details are here. Incidentally, if you're interested, Radiohead are broadcasting a live webcast on Friday, similar to those shown back in 2003. When it was initially announced that Radiohead would employ the "honesty box" method of distribution, people compared it to Prince's adopted technique back in 2006, when he handed his album out for free along with everyone's copy of The Mail on Sunday. Ironic so it seems that, today, news has surfaced of the contempt Prince has shown towards his hardcore, veteran fans who use his image and present his music as part of their fansites. It seems strange that Prince wishes to alienate those who have simply widened his audience by making his music more accessible. That's not to say they uploaded his music for free - they merely used his image and artwork, as any fansite would feel inclined to do. The prosecuted fansites have since formed a coalition to fight the threats of Prince and his record label. This somewhat makes me question their future longevity as fans. Well there we have it; the full spectrum of band-to-fan loyalty, and vice-versa.