Coldplay and Metallica want to be like Radiohead

by Jarrett Martineau | April 28, 2008 at 01:09 pm | 290 views | add comment

Coldplay: 'Nuestro nuevo álbum reflejará una marcada temática hispana'

New RADIOHEAD Album - You Name the Price

Radiohead are not only one of the most popular bands on the planet they are also one of the most unassuming, yet progressive, groups of artists working in contemporary culture.

The band has steadfastly embraced new digital, technological means of sharing their music with their fans — and they have made especially effective use of the internet as a distribution channel, live broadcast centre, user-gen remix hub, and fan community.

But perhaps their great accomplishment in this respect — beyond all of the spontaneous live video podcasts, internet streamed surprise concerts, free downloadable albums, open-source song remix contests, and green touring initiatives —has been the fact that Radiohead have done everything independently, quietly, and without the self-congratulatory fanfare and proselytizing one would normally expect from a band of their stature.

In the process, they've changed the game.

As record labels, artists, and fans struggle to understand what the new face of the music industry looks like, Radiohead have offered them a glimpse: the future is free!

Or at least, by donation.

Now, following initial converts such as Trent Reznor and Saul Williams, massive stadium bands like Coldplay and Metallica are getting in on the 'give-your-band's-music-away-for-free' action.

As it becomes increasingly evident that 'freeing' music could also liberate the struggling music industry, many other bands will look to Radiohead's innovative approach as a model for their own potential success.

Coldplay will give away the first single from their new album for free over the Internet, the British band said on its Web site.

A note posted on www.coldplay.com says that fans can download "Violet Hill," from the album "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends," free for one week from 1115 GMT on Tuesday. The album will be launched in Britain on June 12.

Coldplay also announced two free shows -- one at London's Brixton Academy on June 16 and another at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 23.

The giveaway is the latest attempt by musicians to win fans and media exposure through new marketing initiatives.

Even Metallica, who were known for their vehemently anti-file sharing stance just a few years ago, seem to be coming around.

Eight years ago, when Metallica became the poster band for the clash between the record industry and its fans, the whole thing started when drummer Lars Ulrich personally delivered a massive printout of the names of people who had been sharing Metallica songs on Napster.
But with only one record left on its Warner Music Group contract, the group could be planning a digital release along the lines of what Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have done, as ironic as that might seem.

"You know, this is our last record under contract with Warner, sowe're looking at how we can embrace everything," said Ulrich, who pointed out to Rolling Stone that the band already allows fans to buy MP3 and FLAC versions of recent live shows and download older shows for free.

After denying that the band would sign a 360-degree deal withLive Nation, Ulrich implied that the band could choose a more independent, digitalroute: "We've been observing Radioheadand Trent Reznor and in twenty-seven years or however long it takesfor the next record, we'll be looking forward to everything interms of possibilities with the Internet."