Radiohead strikes again

On March 2, 2008 I downloaded thirty six amazing tracks for $5 (nin’s ghosts i-iv: still available for $5 on the nin site). A few months earlier I downloaded Radiohead’s In Rainbows and Saul Williams’ The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust for free. Musicians were finally winning, I thought to myself. Unfortunately that was short lived. The online distribution model did not change the tide of the music world. So much for thinking that artists would no longer burn and package a ton of albums that would then be thrown into armies of trucks and shipped to the far corners of the world. So much for a future with one less genre of giant cardboard cutouts telling us what to buy.

How times had changed.

For years I was set on not buying media from iTunes. I had all the CDs I thought I wanted and didn’t think it was worth dishing out $1 a song if I didnt get the media in the mail. Over time I did buy a few songs and episodes that I had to have it at that moment.

In 2008, a few months after getting my Zune, I broke down. My roommates’ convinced me that it was pretty pointless to not have the Zune service since they also had Zunes. They couldn’t forward great songs without going to a third party service like Grooveshark, which of course, they were unwilling to do. We tried to share songs over the Zune’s wifi, but since I didn’t subscribe to the service, I could never get the songs they sent. Looking back on it today, I don’t know how I lived without it. I ‘rent’ over half of my music collection for a few bucks a month and also get 10 free downloads. Well worth it.

Today I listen to Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd on my Zune and my Karma Police Station on Pandora on my iPhone and can’t remember the last time I bought an album. There are a couple albums I am going to buy on the Amazon Marketplace (Metallica’s Black Album and DJ Dangermouse’s Grey Album) as soon as I get around to it.

A few hours ago Radiohead released a new song online: Harry Patch (in memory of). Even though the single song they released is a little pricey, the proceeds are for a cause. Maybe if this song takes off more musicians will think twice before sending another dozen tracks to the plastic factory.

Update: Girl Talk released his latest album following the In Rainbows Method – pay what you want to download. http://bit.ly/13zmaN