01/02/2008, 5:45pm, EST
Wednesday, January 2nd
Radiohead: 'In Rainbows' comes to iTunes
Alternative rock band Radiohead has added its latest album, 'In Rainbows,' to Apple's iTunes Store. The musical group's recording contract with major label EMI ended in 2004, and the band recorded as well as produced 'In Rainbows' without the help of a major label. The band sold copies of its album digitally online in October, allowing customers to choose their own price for the work. Radiohead was silent on official sales figures, but one report placed 1.2 million copies of the album on the hard drives of consumers on the first day of its release.
The British rock band was reported to be considering a deal with iTunes earlier this month, but had previously refrained from selling tracks individually while citing licensing issues as well as artistic concerns.
Lead singer Thom Yorke told Time just before Radiohead began recording songs for 'In Rainbows' that: "I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one... It probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say 'fuck you' to this decaying business model." The group chose not to re-sign its contract with EMI, and its latest album is being praised by many as its finest work yet.
Filed under: Apple
Other story tags: iTunes, radio, Radiohead
, 
, 7
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
Don't be a tool.
(Sigh)
:o)
Back when all iTMS music was 128 kbps, people said it was good enough. So what's not 'good enough' about cheaper 256kbps MP3s from amazon?
128kbps AAC is much better than 128kbps MP3.
Similarly, the 256kbps of iTunes Plus is much better than 256kbps MP3.
Some people won't be able to tell the difference, others wpn't care, some will want the small added convenience of purchasing right in iTunes, still others will want to save $2.
But the original commenter implying that it was only DRM-free at Amazon (even if that's not what he intended) was in the wrong, and, price aside, the iTunes no-DRM version is definitely higher quality than Amazon.
Even though I own iPhone+iPod right now, who's to say I will in 5-10 years? I'd like to know that what I buy now isn't [predominantly] tied to a particular company's product line.
And 256kbps MP3 is more than fine. Those with quibbles about that are listening to their headphones/speakers, not their music.
For the practical buyer, Amazon seems like a better choice and I commend their model. Apple shouldn't be having all the fun.