‘Piracy Isn’t Killing Music’ Says Ed O’Brien Radiohead’s Guitarist | Hacker News Reader

‘Piracy Isn’t Killing Music’ Says Ed O’Brien Radiohead’s Guitarist

crenk.com

40 pointsinsomniamg13 comments

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?

I don't know how extreme your view is. I think it's been clear for some time now that the recording industry is damaging to both the artists and the customers. It's hard to imagine anyone wanting them to survive unless they work for them.

> 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.

If you are an extremist, then so am I, and so are many of my friends.

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.

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.

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

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.

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...

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....

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.

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.

What's his what.cd username?

there's ~45 snatches from that user

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.

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