Eric R. Danton | Sound Check

EMI plans corporate sponsorships for albums

As if selling naming rights weren't insidious enough, EMI plans to offer brands the chance to sponsor new releases by the label's acts, including Coldplay and Kylie Minogue, NME.com reports.

The gambit is, of course, an attempt to boost revenue at a time when albums sales are plummeting, which puts the record industry in arguably worse straits than the newspaper business. In fact, EMI is expected to announce some 2,000 layoffs today.

It's unclear what form the sponsorships will take — "Best Buy Presents 'Prospekt' by Coldplay?" "Ford Celebrates 45 Years of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'?" — but it's a safe bet that offering sponsorships is a great way to alienate the artists lingering on the company's roster. Radiohead's decision to first release "In Rainbows" on its own is looking smarter and smarter.

Radiohead announces plans for tour

Radiohead will undertake an extensive North American tour this year, the band's publicist revealed Wednesday morning, but Connecticut is not part of the itinerary. Cities that made the cut, in alphabetical order:

Atlanta
Boston
Charlotte
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montreal
New York
Philadelphia
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara
Seattle
St Louis
Tampa
Toronto
Vancouver
Washington DC

Dates and venues haven't been released yet, but the tour will take place in two segments, before and after the band's European tour this summer.

Discbox is here ...

... and it's spectacular.

Radiohead's limited-edition paean to its new album, "In Rainbows," is a high-end work of art. Beautifully packaged, book-like, between thick cardboard covers, with a protective outer jacket, the discbox opens onto a pair of CDs on the right-hand page. One is the CD version of "In Rainbows," the other is a collection of bonus tracks, including "Down is the New Up," "Go Slowly" and "4 Minute Warning."

Next to the CDs, a book of lyrics and credits is glued into place. The opposite face is blank and black, with a book of trippy abstract photographs tucked into a pocket. The vinyl records fit between the the front and back covers. The vinyl is the one drawback, however, in that the records are 45 rpm, which is annoying if you have a turntable (like mine) that requires you to manually move the drive belt to switch speeds.

Is it worth the $80? If you're a fervent Radiohead fan and/or collector, the answer is an unqualified yes.

Radiohead's discbox is in the mail

Or so says an e-mail from the band's W.A.S.T.E. merchandise clearinghouse.

The discbox, of course, is the boxed set including Radiohead's new album, "In Rainbows," on vinyl, with a CD version, a CD of bonus tracks and artwork. Fans in the UK will have theirs fastest: within the next 8 days, the notification e-mail says. Those in Europe can expect their "In Rainbows" discboxes within the next 14 days. Those of us in the U.S. should start receiving ours within 5 to 18 days.

Barring postal delays, Christmas (or the holiday of your choice) will come a little early for Radiohead fans this year. (Except for Hanukkah, which starts Tuesday ...)

'In Rainbows' missing the green

Just how much were people shelling out for "In Rainbows," Radiohead's pay-what-you-want new album? Not much, as it happens.

About 62 percent of people who downloaded the album when it became available Oct. 10 did so without paying anything at all, Internet research company ComScore reports via CNET. Add to that the 17 percent who paid between one cent and $4 and it turns out that nearly 80 percent of the people who downloaded "In Rainbows" paid far less for it than they would have via iTunes or a brick-and-mortar store.

So, a band as talented as Radiohead focuses its creative drive on making a brilliant new album, and most of its own fans think it's worth (next to) nothing. The Eagles, by contrast, return from suspended animation to wrack up first-week sales of 700,000 copies of "Out of Eden," a mediocre new album available only at one particular retailer, which regards selling music as a loss leader for moving NASCAR baseball caps and Funyuns.

How dispiriting. Not surprising, but dispiriting nonetheless.

CD Review: 'In Rainbows' by Radiohead

It's either the cleverest marketing scheme in years or, just maybe, a far-reaching social experiment designed to test our morality.

Radiohead seems entirely capable of hatching either, which makes the release Wednesday of the English band's new album, “In Rainbows,” all the more fascinating.

The gist: Having fulfilled the terms of its record deal with Capitol, Radiohead decided to release “In Rainbows” on its own, as a digital download available exclusively through its website, and to let fans assign value to the band's art. In other words, they're charging you whatever you're willing to pay — and letting you have “In Rainbows” even if you're not willing to pay a cent.

Oasis ready to follow Radiohead

News that Radiohead will release its new album, "In Rainbows," tomorrow (Oct. 10) as a digital download exclusively through the band's website (for now) and let fans pay whatever price they think is fair has set the music industry abuzz with speculation about who else could possibly release an album that way.

Suddenly there's a list of bands who seem interested in trying, NME.com reports, including '90s Brit-pop powerhouse Oasis and Jamiroquai, both of whom have fulfilled the terms of their most recent record contracts.

The music industry has been floundering for years now, unwilling or unable to cope with the Internet. If Radiohead's approach works, it's going to mean a fundamental change for an industry largely unwilling to adapt. What happens next is anyone's guess.

Radiohead readies 'In Rainbows'

It was like a mirage, shimmering in the distance: Despite recent reports that Radiohead was in the studio working on a new album, few details were forthcoming, not even a release date. "Your guess is as good as mine," the band's publicist noted just two weeks ago in an e-mail update on Radiohead and other clients. "I can't wait to have some news for you all."

Suddenly there's news aplenty: Radiohead's seventh studio album, "In Rainbows," will be available exclusively from the band's website as a DRM-free download starting Oct. 10. (Read my review of the album here.) In addition, the band is now taking orders for what the "Discbox" version of the album, a special edition that includes double vinyl and CD versions of the record and a second, enhanced CD with additional new songs, artwork, and photographs of the band, all exclusive to the box. (It ain't cheap: the Discbox version is selling for 40 pounds, which at today's exchange rate is close to $80. On the other hand, the band is letting fans choose how much, if anything, to pay to download the mp3 version.)

Those who buy pre-order Discbox will automatically receive the bundled mp3 album on October 10. Discboxes, which are made-to-order, will ship starting Dec. 3.

The band is said to be planning a "traditional" release of the album early next year, though there's been no word yet what label (if any) might put it out. In the short term, this is a fascinating end-run around the machinery of the music industry. It's the sort of thing that only bands on a certain level could even conceive of doing, but it bears close watching.

Radiohead: 'We are nearly there'

It's oblique, to say the least, but Radiohead reports today that it's making progress on its new album.

"Yes I know its been a while," guitarist Ed O'Brien writes in a post on the band's website (which is where this photo came from). "But we've been working on this album for a while ...... BUT WE ARE NEARLY THERE."

"A while" is right. The band's most recent release is "Hail to the Thief," which came out in 2003. No word yet when the new album might come out, or what label will release it.