radiohead is robbing me blind.
i am something of a sucker. and i think my favorite bands are not only aware of that, but also taking advantage of this fact. my favorite bands are, in fact, trying to get rich by picking my meager pocket. and they’re very good at it.
the thing is, i trust radiohead. i feel like, somehow, almost every record they make is both different and better than the one that came before it. it seems like they challenge themselves, and me, and i love them for it. they also seem to challenge the record industry, with just about every chance they get. with their last album, in rainbows, they self-released it via their website with the now famous words “pay what you want.” and people did. most of them even giving the band a fair amount of dollars (though others also paid nothing). but there was another option in addition to the digital “free-for-all,” if you will. you could also give the band about $75 for a deluxe edition box with heavy gram vinyl, a cd, a cd of bonus material, and a big/beautifully constructed hardcover book of accompanying art. i did not even blink before entering my credit card information – that box needed to be mine.
just this week, radiohead is at it again. their new album, the king of limbs, has been released as a download only again (but with a set price this time—their manager has made it clear that he wants them to make money), and also as a special newspaper edition (only $48 this time!)—with the vinyl, the downloads, 600-some pieces of art, etc. i am one broke-ass grad student, but i want that thing. bad. this is true even though i have to admit i was just the teensiest bit disappointed by the in rainbows box. it was striking, and memorable, and cool, but i’m not sure it really enhanced my experience of the album—which is kinda how i justified the purchase in the first place.
so now i’m wondering how much of this special edition nonsense (from radiohead, and everyone else) is just a way for bands to make money (on the backs of the most dedicated fans) in the wake of the digital age, and how much of these things are really musicians legitimately trying to do something more with their art?
this new radiohead record is out just a month and a half after a significant change in the way in which pearl jam operates their fan club. i’ve been a ten club member since most of my fellow mfa students were still in short pants. it started off as a really cool thing the band did: for $15 (then $20) a year, you got regular newsletters, a fan-club-only 45 single at x-mas time, and—this was easily the greatest part—the best seats in the house at their shows. somehow, pearl jam managed to convince concert promoters to give them all the front row seats (like 20 rows worth), at every single show, which pearl jam then sold at a reasonable cost (originally in the $30 range) through their fan club. fast forward to now: pearl jam now sells those same front row tickets, through their fan club, but only in pairs, and the pairs run well over $100, sometimes closer to $150. not only this, but their fan club now offers digital & analog options. the digital option costs the same as the old fan club ($20), but you get a holiday mp3 instead of vinyl, and your newsletters are e-mailed pdfs. the analog option, which is eerily similar to the old fan club (with the 45 & printed newsletter booklets & such) is now $40. the band still performs killer live shows, and even writes decent new songs once in a while. but with these new money making orchestrations, i think pearl jam has now officially become the rolling stones of gen x. they might rock yer face off yet, but these guys are clearly in it for money.
i think a nice contrast to this is what trent reznor did before folding nine inch nails. he, too, self-released digital albums (and charged a measly $5) while also creating a super-deluxe version that cost $300 (which immediately sold-out in its limited run). but trent also literally gave away the next record—didn’t even ask for money on that one. then he colluded with fans to create a kick-ass free concert film for downloading. i think he did it right, and i don’t begrudge him a dollar he’s made.
so i’m wondering where other people draw the line at supporting their favorite musicians. i don’t have to ask my 20-something friends, because i know they all just steal music. but the rest of you: do you get all dopey-eyed around special edition discs? and if so, at what point do say “no—that’s just too much?”
Tags: nine inch nails, pearl jam, Radiohead
It depends on the musician, and it depends on the nature of the special edition. If it’s not something that I’ll be able to convince a crowd to come over and enjoy with me, I’m not going to buy it. And if it’s got stuff in it that will sit and gather dust, I’m not going to buy it—I have too many photo books and concept art books (admittedly, those are from video game and movie special editions) that do just that to justify getting another one just for the pretty pictures and one-time pleasure.
But if it has the word “charity” attached to it, I’m a sucker. The portion size doesn’t matter. The long-term lasting value and the bookshelf space is insignificant.
The only reason why I did not buy the $100 special edition of Dig Out Your Soul, Oasis’ last album, is because I did not have $100 to give them. But you bet I gladly spent $18 on the deluxe CD+DVD the day it came out. And then I bought the special edition vinyl remix of their single “Falling Down.” And imported the issue of NME that came with sheet music for the album. And gladly spent $80 (after fees) on row 15 seats to see them (and Ryan Adams) in Seattle.
And have been gladly giving them money since 1996.
And then with Liam Gallagher’s new band, Beady Eye (which is basically Oasis minus Noel, member-wise), I’ve already pre-ordered their first album — the deluxe CD/DVD version with a T-shirt. Also the heavyweight vinyl single of “The Roller.”
And I will do the same for Noel when he puts out solo stuff.
This is a long (but not as long as it could be) way of saying, when it comes to them, I am hopelessly, insanely, and unwaveringly loyal.
And for what it’s worth, I’m still in my 20s. Late 20s, sure, but don’t dismiss us all, maaaan….
(1) i didn’t know oasis had a $100 special edition – that’s crazy! (2) i’m not sure i knew oasis had officially broken up.
something about the gallaghers makes me wonder how much of those special edition discs are them trying to do something cool for fans vs. something cool for their bank accounts. but i’m glad you haven’t been disappointed by any of that stuff. that’s awesome!
Definitely Maybe and What’s the Story Morning Glory, plus subsequent tours did more for their bank accounts than anything else ever did. In the UK, their dates sell out in a matter of minutes, which is why they still played stadium-size shows over there. Still fairly large venues in the US and Canada — where I saw them, it was certainly bigger than Knitting Factory in Spokane, but smaller than the Arena. I know in South America they played stadiums/arenas too. People like to dismiss them post-1997, but I maintain that those people have an awfully US-centric point of view when it comes to the music business.
Also, keep in mind that the $100 is basically an import price because their label (Big Brother Recordings) was based out of the UK, despite having a distribution deal with someone else in the US. The special edition included the album on CD, a making-of DVD, the album on heavyweight vinyl, an artwork book (some very cool artwork on that album), plus 5 b-sides and of course a digital copy of the album code (as you do, these days.)
And yes, they broke up in summer 2009. Inevitable, really, given Liam’s petulant little brother syndrome.
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