

‘Piracy Isn’t Killing Music’ Says Ed O’Brien Radiohead’s Guitarist - insomniamg
http://crenk.com/%e2%80%98piracy-isn%e2%80%99t-killing-music%e2%80%99-says-ed-o%e2%80%99brien-radiohead%e2%80%99s-guitarist/

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swombat
I think what's saddening about this is that when a public figure makes these
common-sense statements, they are a newsworthy exception, rather than the
norm.

The recording industry is a corrupt nest of shit. I don't even want them to
adapt anymore, I just want them to finally die, go away, leave the field empty
for some newcomers to come in and design a system that actually works.

I know it's a somewhat extreme view, but I believe that every dollar spent on
a CD or MP3 download in this day and age is a dollar donated to an evil cause.
Think of the recording industry as an anti-charity. Would you donate money to
a charity dedicated to _spreading_ AIDS in exchange for a little music?

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samdk
Not _every_ dollar spent on music is money donated to an evil cause.

There are plenty of people making and recording and supporting music who are
worth supporting.

If you're looking to avoid music released by the RIAA
<http://www.riaaradar.com/> is a great resource.

And <http://www.cdbaby.com/> is the best place I've found to buy independent
music online.

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brehaut
Have you read <http://www.negativland.com/albini.html> ? The article is nearly
20 years old, so grain of salt and all that, but the system does appear to be
set out so that the people making and recording music don't see any of your
money when you buy an album.

~~~
samdk
I have, yes. Thanks for the link though--I had lost it.

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rodyancy
I think this is an overly extreme view and you may be able to see it from
another light is you take a second to think it through.

First, let me say, I'm not defending the past or present practices of the
major labels. I agree that their tactic of suing file-sharers was too heavy
handed and did more to harm their business than to help it. That being said,
what would you do if you had a business model that successfully created,
delivered and received value and suddenly new technology made it dead simple
for people to illegally obtain the end product you relied on? Sure, they could
have released an early competitor to Napster, but they would have had to drop
the price to free, and that wouldn't have sustained their model.

And don't forget, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all without the
benefit of the Label's old business model, because Radio Head wouldn't exist
as it is today without early support and promotion from their original label.

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leviathant
Hopefully Ed's told Jonny that moving away from the CD is a good thing. When
In Rainbows came out, I was really put off by the band's attitude toward
digital distribution.

"How would you respond to complaints about the sound quality - that 160 isn’t
a high enough bitrate?

I don’t know, we talked about it and we just wanted to make it a bit better
than iTunes, which it is, so that’s kind of good enough, really. It’s never
going to be CD quality, because that’s what CD does."

[http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/10/10/r...](http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/10/10/radioheads-
jonny-greenwood-on-in-rainbows-its-fun-to-make-people-think-about-what-music-
is-worth/)

~~~
rms
I think someone probably did an A/B test or education session with the band
about how 160 isn't good enough; their subsequent online release These Are My
Twisted Words was an MP3 at 320 CBR.

It's available for free download directly from the band here.
[http://www.waste.uk.com/Store/waste-radiohead-
twisted+words....](http://www.waste.uk.com/Store/waste-radiohead-
twisted+words.html)

Also, the release of In Rainbows was a promotional stunt for the conventional
release of the album. For the next LP, I expect that online distribution will
form a more core part of their release strategy.

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rms
Thom Yorke himself is believed to have leaked These Are My Twisted Words to
what.cd. Email me if you would like the link to the .png of the five things he
downloaded from what.cd.

~~~
timb
there's ~45 snatches from that user

~~~
rms
I'm not sure if you can see that because you are a mod or admin, but I can't
see that information since crza made his snatches private. If you are a mod or
admin and are concerned about outing yourself, pg will dead this comment and
mine if you ask nicely. If you are a mod or admin, I'd be very curious to
discuss the future of the hydra if you email me.

