Radiohead
I downloaded the new Radiohead music today.
I paid what should amount to about $7.00 US. Seemed fair to me.
The whole process was kinda kludgey though. Overall it took about 15 minutes. I could've stolen it faster. ,-)
The pages often had graphics for essential text elements. Sometimes they didn't load and I wasn't sure what to do. So I reloaded the pages. I probably ended up paying multiple times. he he.
Anyway. I only had time to give it one listen - but it's very radiohead. Kinda downtempo-y, ethereal, lots of falsetto vocals too. The production on this recording seemed more minimalist than prior releases.
Musically, I'm still in my dark & sinister phase so this RH stuff sounds a tad "lite" & nice for me. But I like their harmonic sense. They're clearly operating on a deeper level than most "pop" stuff.
I read that this release is mostly music they've been playing live for quite some time - so fans know the tunes already. And they did sign with a major label to distribute the physical product and I that more "new" radiohead is probably coming out next year. Probably through traditional means.
I think the future for artists with solid fan bases is going to be about offering tiered options.
Down & Dirty cheap downloads for casual fans. This competes directly with all the free copies floating around.
Mid level physical product for people who still want high quality sound and a physical presentation - and an elite level collectable product for the hyper fans.
Of course for those artist still trying to get attention (like me) - it's a completely different game.