Posted by Prof. Goose on October 7, 2007 - 9:58am

I don't know if you are aware of what the band Radiohead is doing with their new album release, but I love them for it. (Then again I loved them already well before this.) From the G&M:

Radiohead, the seminal British band known for its experimental sound, is now experimenting with something else: a new delivery format. Its first album in four years will be available for download from the Internet in 10 days, the band announced late Sunday night. And the price? Whatever fans feel like paying. The news was made public on a website at www.inrainbows.com (the name of the new album), which features text links on a psychedelic rainbow background. When you click on a question mark next to the word "Price," you are taken to a page that says: "It's up to you." Clicking on another question mark takes you to another page that says: "No really. It's up to you."

Good on you fellas. This whole thing gets to many bigger points about our consumption culture, supply and demand, ownership rights of content, basic values in democracy, RIAA issues, music as art form versus music as commercialized crap through a middle man that has to sing for his supper, I could go on for hours.

But at the end of the day, this band wants you to hear their music, their contribution to the world. If you can give a dollar, or if you want to give a dollar, marvelous. If you can and want to give $30, marvelous. The value of the music, the information, the data is up to the person who wants that information...and that person's relative means can come into their decision to "consume the art."

Has Radiohead made money in the past that allows them this opportunity? Likely so. Will they make money this time? I hope they do. In my opinion, they already deserve compensation for the quality of their art; the quality of this gesture just adds to their status with me.

How does this tie in with energy? What can we learn from this about our energy future? I will let you all continue my little thought prompt in the comments...other than to say this: "Things do not have to be the way they are."