Radiohead, one of the biggest bands in the world, are making their new album available for free download.
This follows Prince's giveaway of his latest album in a newspaper. Other bands are said to be following Radiohead's example.
I'm worried.
Knowledge Politics looked in detail about the intellectual property regime of the music industry in our Frontiers of Freedom reports. Many would like to see this regime become more restrictive, including Pete Wishart MP, who wrote a chapter of the first publication in this series.
Wishart said artists' livelihood depended on being able to explot that intellectual property. With this move, Radiohead willingly give up the chance to make money out of their IP.
Like I said, I'm worried. Even the most avid music fans probably wouldn't buy more than one album a week: there just isn't enough time in the day to listen to more than that. Which would you 'buy' this week - the one you have to pay a tenner for, or the one being given away?
New, unsigned artists give away their music for free all of the time, whether it is a CD handed out at a gig or on the obligatory myspace page. But they do this in the hope it will help them make money out of it at some point in the future, to build up a fan base willing to pay for their material.
Radiohead have absolutely no need to do this. Their fans will gladly pay for their new album. And I fear that the effect of their stunt will be that, this week, at least some of those people who would otherwise have paid for an album for a band that really needed it have decided instead to download Radiohead's album.
Maybe the impact is marginal, but sometimes marginal is important - it can be the difference between a record company droppping a band or investing in a second album.
If Thom Yorke and the other millionaires in his band really wanted to make a point about how they feel tainted by making money out of music, they should have charged a regular price and given the proceeds to charity.
Thursday 11 October 2007
Tuesday 9 October 2007
Localism and the information society
Last week saw the publication of KP’s most recent pamphlet, ‘Localism and the Information Society’, in which we argue that the information society and its tools need not be regarded as purely for global use.
Considering, as it does, the newly developing trend of localism from different angles, this pamphlet demonstrates that there is a coherent and substantial argument for a change in the way we approach the information society. Our existing picture – of a virtual space entirely dislocated from its physical counterpart, where small-interest sites with global reach move like flotsam on a sea of generic domain names and where people mainly interact with others many miles away – is inadequate.
The contributions from Edward Andersson, Gordon Dabinett, Shaun Fensom and Helen Goulden each demonstrate how the tools of the information society that have hitherto been used to address issues on a global level can be manipulated with great effect in the local arena. The range of areas discussed in these papers, from social inclusion to town planning, demonstrates the viability and value of recognising the place of the information society at the local level.
Recognition for the developing trend in localism in relation to the information society is given a more solid foundation in the discussion on City TLDs, in the second section of this publication. The detailed proposals from the Connecting.nyc and dotBERLIN campaigns indicate that there is demand for an alteration in the way we think about the information society and the internet in particular. As Richard points out in his introduction, City TLDs are not the only solution to bringing localism to the internet, and this is made clear in Monika Ermert’s article, in which she highlights many oppositional arguments to this scheme.
This report, then, shows what we at KP believe: that the information society can be a tool for local use; the diverse range of subjects approached in the first part of this pamphlet, and the different opinions of City TLDs from the second, bear this out.
DM
Considering, as it does, the newly developing trend of localism from different angles, this pamphlet demonstrates that there is a coherent and substantial argument for a change in the way we approach the information society. Our existing picture – of a virtual space entirely dislocated from its physical counterpart, where small-interest sites with global reach move like flotsam on a sea of generic domain names and where people mainly interact with others many miles away – is inadequate.
The contributions from Edward Andersson, Gordon Dabinett, Shaun Fensom and Helen Goulden each demonstrate how the tools of the information society that have hitherto been used to address issues on a global level can be manipulated with great effect in the local arena. The range of areas discussed in these papers, from social inclusion to town planning, demonstrates the viability and value of recognising the place of the information society at the local level.
Recognition for the developing trend in localism in relation to the information society is given a more solid foundation in the discussion on City TLDs, in the second section of this publication. The detailed proposals from the Connecting.nyc and dotBERLIN campaigns indicate that there is demand for an alteration in the way we think about the information society and the internet in particular. As Richard points out in his introduction, City TLDs are not the only solution to bringing localism to the internet, and this is made clear in Monika Ermert’s article, in which she highlights many oppositional arguments to this scheme.
This report, then, shows what we at KP believe: that the information society can be a tool for local use; the diverse range of subjects approached in the first part of this pamphlet, and the different opinions of City TLDs from the second, bear this out.
DM
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