Filed under: iLife, iTS, Multimedia
Remix Radiohead's "Reckoner" in iTunes
Love them or not, you've got to admit that Radiohead are challenging the record business. After initially releasing their current album In Rainbows with a "pay-what-you-will" pricing policy, their entire catalog was finally added to the iTunes Store.Shortly thereafter, they released all five tracks (or "stems" as they call them) of their song "Nude" in iTunes, encouraging fans to create their own remixes. This week, they've done the same thing with the song "Reckoner" [iTunes link]. The six-track, DRM-free album costs $0.99US. Tracks cannot be purchased individually.
If you purchase the stems within the first two weeks of availability, you'll receive an access code to a full GarageBand version of the song. When you're done, you can upload your masterpiece here.
This isn't the first we've seen an artist do this. Trent Reznor has released GarageBand versions of Nine Inch Nails songs, as has Burger King. Yes, Burger King.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jon said 10:32AM on 9-24-2008
While I love Radiohead, they keep getting credit for things Nine Inch Nails does better. Trent Reznor has been consistently doing this, releasing their last album free in any audio quality imaginable. Also, when you remix a Nails song (of which many have been released in GarageBand) you do not lose ownership of the track after uploading in to the NIN Remix site. I just get frustrated hearing about Radiohead "breaking new ground" again and again.
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Dale said 11:28AM on 9-24-2008
Seriously, remix.nin.com walks all over anything Radiohead are doing... and without charging the bloody earth, either. $6 for a new copy of a song split into separate tracks? Not OK, computer, not OK at all.
Jeremiah Moon said 1:30PM on 9-24-2008
@Dale:
Seriously, you should pay a bit more attention to what you're writing about. It's definitely 99 cents for all 6.
And Jon - Radiohead's not the first to do this, and they never claimed to be. But you have to admit it's breaking new ground when a band as big as they are pulls something like this off. I enjoy NIN a lot - but IMHO Radiohead's the only (real) band in the world right now who can release a fantastic album for absolutely no charge, and still stay at #1 for a month for cd sales.
Dale said 2:26PM on 9-24-2008
My bad, 'Nude' was 99c per "stem" and in skimming the post, it seemed they were charging the same for 'Reckoner'.
They're still charging and forcing you to use iTunes to download them, when Trent Reznor/NIN charge nothing and put out way more songs for remix.
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Radiohead fan. I own almost their entire back catalogue, including singles and vinyl, and have a tattoo featuring some of their artwork.
I still think it's a rip off.
Fred said 12:47PM on 9-24-2008
F Radiohead, a lot. Seriously, what a bunch of poseurs. "Come get our free album! It was recorded with a string, two soup cans and a wax cylinder!"
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steve said 2:04PM on 9-24-2008
TY! - I was thinking the same thing as the first comment - nin gets no press for doing a lot of innovative things - how can you challenge the record business if your on a major label?
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David Stevenson said 3:53PM on 9-24-2008
"Stems" is what ProTools calls them, IIRC. A 'stem' being a submix of a bunch of tracks.
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HB said 7:12PM on 9-24-2008
Those guys who are talking this down need to seriously think again. We spend out entire lives on sites like TUAW and DIGG saying how it sucks the music industry has us by the balls and how they use outdated methods to generate revenue that alienates the end user/audience. What Radiohead is doing should be applauded regardless of whether they are the first, the second or the hundredth band to try this. Ultimately they are innovating, engaging directly with their fans and should be supported.
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AJ said 12:54PM on 9-28-2008
Radiohead may be the one band around today that truly cannot be placed into one genre of music; they've created one of their own. Not only does the band bring something so different to the table (whether you like them or not), but the band truly stands for what they believe in and lives by their principles, without forcing their beliefs upon others and being overtly preachy. If you think the price of their streams are a "rip off"- don't buy them. Regardless of what one says, the fact remains that the band is offering other people to share in their love and passion for music by adding personal touches to their various "in rainbows" tracks. The band also encourages people to then share their creativity with others. Sure, they might not be the first band to do this, but to call them poseurs is absolutely ridiculous.
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