Radiohead Refused to Split Up despite Management’s Advice
The band is among the most fervent advocates of file sharing
Brian Message, Radiohead’s manager, made a rather surprising statement – he admitted that he told the band they should split while they were working on 'In Rainbows' album which was a great success especially thanks to being released on p2p networks.
He pointed out to the band’s uniqueness saying "Radiohead are a once-in-a-generation act," but also added that "you have to be honest if it's not working."
According to NME, the band disregarded Message’s advice and that turned out to be a very wise choice which Message himself later praised.
Message’s pro-file-sharing stand is already known and his comments were no different this time: "We believe [Courtyard Management] file-sharing by peer to peer should be legalised. The sharing of music where it is not for profit is a great thing for culture and music."
He then explained who came first with the idea of using p2p file-sharing distribution system and how the band embraced it right away in a very intelligent manner:
"Two of my partners in the management company came up with the idea of pay-what-you-like."
"Both the band and us were really excited about doing something brave and a bit wacky…we realised that by using the internet for the delivery of the album, we could reach 173 countries and it would cost us less than three cents a copy for distribution."
Message advocated again the need for a monetizing file-sharing system that would make sure artists get paid: "As a free market advocate I never thought I’d say this but we will have to have government intervention to force the internet service providers to adopt a licensing model."
Let's turn back in time a little and remember 'In Rainbows':
