Macworld UK is reporting that:
At issue is Apple’s insistence that artists allow fans to buy individual tracks unbundled. Radiohead object to this, as the band wants to sell its albums as they were meant to be heard – complete.
In accordance with their wishes, I hope you will join me in my solemn oath to uphold Radiohead’s wishes that their songs be allowed the artistic integrity that they deserve:
1. I pledge to boycott listening to Radiohead’s music on the radio or purchasing singles, since it is so important to listen to their songs in the appropriate context. To help others enjoy this music, I will call in and request radio stations not to play Radiohead’s singles.
2. I also pledge to only ever listen to the album in one sitting, without pausing, rewinding or skipping from track to track, as the artists intended. Otherwise, I’d just be ruining this amazing music, none of which any of us have heard.
3. I will write to Radiohead to ask them to please release the CD as one single track to encourage this kind of behavior. If they could rig it so that it won’t allow pausing, rewinding or fast-forwarding, that would be great as well.
4. Since allowing people to rip the album will give them even more control, I will ask them to include software on the disk to prevent that sort of whole-sale destruction of the integrity of their album. If they could make said software install itself into a hidden area on any computer that it is inserted into, that would be ideal.
5. I will also ask Radiohead if they would never play any songs off of their albums live unless they intend to play them in the order that they are on the album, and with the same exact transitions.
This is, after all, serious music.
Or these jumped-up nitwits could get over themselves and stop trying to control how people enjoy their music and just appreciate the fact that they have a huge following of rabid fans who will buy any damn fool thing they produce, no matter how indulgent or pretentious. Also, they should realize that allowing people to purchase a sample song off of their album without purchasing the entire album will generate them more sales, not less.
In an interview with the Australian Herald Sun, Trent Reznor says:
I’ve have one record left that I owe a major label, then I will never be seen in a situation like this again. If I could do what I want right now, I would put out my next album, you could download it from my site at as high a bit-rate as you want, pay $4 through PayPal. Come see the show and buy a T-shirt if you like it. I would put out a nicely packaged merchandise piece, if you want to own a physical thing. And it would come out the day that it’s done in the studio, not this “Let’s wait three months” bulls—.
Wow. Also:
I steal music too, I’m not gonna say I don’t. But it’s tough not to resent people for doing it when you’re the guy making the music, that would like to reap a benefit from that. On the other hand, you got record labels that are doing everything they can to piss people off and rip them off.
Putting Rick Rubin in charge of Columbia Records was a good start, but they’d be better off just closing shop because eventually every artist is going to come to the same realization that Prince, Trent and Paul McCartney have come to: you don’t need those people. The record companies, from what I can tell, do absolutely nothing right. They steal from artists, they take a huge portion of the profits, and they do everything they can to alienate music fans.
Just close it all down, people. To quote Michael Dell out of context: “Shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.”
I’ve been listening to a bunch of Dylan lately, and reading more Dr. Seuss than I can tell. Which doesn’t explain why I like Dylan Hears a Who! so much, but maybe you’ll like it too.