LP7 announcement, this time straight from the bear’s blog…
Mon, 01 OctoberIn Rainbows
Hello everyone.Well, the new album is finished, and it’s coming out in 10 days;
We’ve called it In Rainbows.
Love from us all.
Jonny

Wait, it gets much better…
According to inrainbows.com, the album will be available as digital download or deluxe discbox. Both editions are available for pre-order now. Re: the discbox:
THIS CONSISTS OF THE NEW ALBUM, IN RAINBOWS, ON CD
AND ON 2 X 12 INCH HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL RECORDS.
A SECOND, ENHANCED CD CONTAINS MORE NEW SONGS, ALONG WITH DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTWORK.
THE DISCBOX ALSO INCLUDES ARTWORK AND LYRIC BOOKLETS.
ALL ARE ENCASED IN A HARDBACK BOOK AND SLIPCASE.THE ALBUM DOWNLOAD AUTOMATICALLY COMES WITH THIS PACK.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FILE DIGITALLY FROM THE 10TH OCTOBER 2007.DISCBOXES ARE BEING MADE TO ORDER AND ARE PRICED AT £40.00 INCLUDING POSTAGE.
SHIPPING WILL BEGIN ON OR BEFORE 3RD DECEMBER 2007.
The package is pretty (not unlike a rainbow):

Yep, discboxes = cool merch and bonus tracks. So what’s the transaction fee for the download-only? It’s up to you. NO REALLY, IT’S UP TO YOU.
CD 1 AND VINYL TRACKLIST
15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE
CD 2 AND VINYL TRACKLIST
MK 1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK 2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH
4 MINUTE WARNING
WASTE, we’re very impressed. Unless it’s a hoax. In which case, yeah we knew it all along.
Incidentally, inrainbows.com was registered June 15th. Administrative contact? Sandbag Ltd (W.A.S.T.E.’s sister company). Technical contact? Phil Allsopp (Radiohead.com programmer).
No label? Ten day marketing? Optional pricing? Scatter your brain on that, Rick Rubin.
So, who’s going for the deluxe?
UPDATE: For those nervous to take the e-com jump, we just got a valid e-mail confirmation from W.A.S.T.E.:
This transaction will appear on your credit card bill as WASTE PRODUCTS LTD. or a shortened version of this.
Discbox customers. You goods will be shipped on or before 3rd December 2007 by post. Information regarding the download (included with the Discbox) as per below.
Download customers. You will receive a further e-mail shortly before the 10th October detailing your username and activation code. The e-mail will also provide the link to the download area.
We value your custom.
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posted this last week. looks like the name change is the only thing i didn’t get right.
i work at a vinyl pressing plant and we’ve been pressing up copies of radiohead’s “tryptych” this past week. our biggest order yet. put two and two together and you’ll see that this is counting down to the online-only release of lp7 followed a week or two later by the vinyl release. no cd packaging going to waste. just like thom wanted. except with a shitty album name.
no streaming mp3’s?!?!!?
WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF BLOG IS THIS!!
omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg
i just shit my pants
this is the most insane thing ever.
talk about the least unsuspecting thing of the year
yeah, too bad the pound anally rapes the dollar and that whole set is like $80
pretty epic…they really are on a whole other level.
this is great, and in some ways a great marketing scheme. some albums leak months in advance but with only a 10 day period i doubt it will leak in advance and people will jump all over it and buy it.
Kudos Radiohead, I look forward to the 10th.
Sorry, no MP3s for you guys. Free desktop wallpapers, though, if anyone wants to look for hidden messages:
^ what does this mean
anyone else notice how the digital download option is a suggested donation. brilliant.
I fucking hate the word “epic”.
What…the…fuck….
thinking outside the box, for sure.
hope they’ll share download/donation stats a month in, silent auctions for high UK art.
I’m so jaded, the first time I saw this I was sure it was fake.
Anyways, ecstatic that the whole “2008-release” was just a clever ruse. I think I’ll make the discbox a Christmas present for myself.
Well this is fucking genius. Only Radiohead could pull off something like this. Transcending the entire music buisness and jsut doing whatever they want.
this is amazing!!
Nice.
But just to justify the whole deal, would someone mind posing a video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”, just for shits and giggles?
DwD
This CD is worth 0 pounds to me. Can’t wait till the the tenth. hahahaha, fuck you radiohead. I do not feel guilty.
Nice…the album art reminds me of Friend Opportunity on the front and Person Pitch on the back…also looks a little gay
im gonna rubb one out while looking at that discbox pic
10 days of utter pain..
It’s also important to note that this item will run American fans $82.00 plus shipping and handling at current exchange rates…
…and the dollar keeps dropping in value.
Thanks Radiohead.
DwD
DwD,
Read a little before you complain. Shipping / Handling are included with the order.
Now you can complain about the exchange rate.
Paying nothing is lame.
Okay, so I jumped the gun. Still, there was no way the band could have arranged a US depot to cut their American fans a little slack? A little KY to slather ’round the wallet hole so this purchase won’t be quite as painful?
I hate to say it, but I’m gonna need a few days just to find out where this fan really stands.
DwD
Eh, $80 is horriffic in some ways….but, I think Tom’s probably getting a laugh out of seeing us pay this much for the album. I mean, this IS what happens when your leader takes your country into such great debt that the currency freefalls. It happened to the UK about 15 years ago. That’s how George Soros made a good chunk of his fortune.
But I’d much rather pay $80 to Radiohead directly than to EMI.
1) holyfuckingshit
2) my guess is that it will be available in retail stores (in a more conventional cd package) in december because they don’t ship till then.
3) omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg
4) don’t complain about the price. many of us are more than willing to pay that much for a double LP, plus double CD, plus artwork, etc.
5) album of the year, bitches.
holy shit. this can’t be real. can it?
I will say that this is a pretty comprehensive collection and that all the folks who are planning to “drop a wooden nickel in the poor-box” ought to be ashamed.
On the upside, I think we can honestly say we’re seeing the new business model in action. The fans already know – nothing more than a webnote was passed to advertise it. Nothing more than a site is prepped to sell it. We all know now and it’s, what, 10:00 US E.S.T.? It would never work with a group with a lesser fanbase, at least not yet, but all the frittering about what label would be crowned king seems pale now.
Yeah. I guess I’m going to be saving a few extra bucks aside this week.
DwD
have people begun to get waste confirmations just yet? just ordered about a half hour ago…
Why only include the second disc in the discbox? They’re just asking for people to go and download it illegally. If it included the whole thing, I might have given them a few bucks, but not for half the album.
This might be a stupid question. But if you’re ordering from the US does it convert the amount when checking out, when you buy the digital download? I.e. do I have to do anything special to buy it from in the US?
oh my god, life is suddenly so sweet again
Adam, the second disc is of extras (b-sides), the first disc is the actual record.
If you buy the discbox, do you get to download the bonus disc on October 10?
There is no way in hell that this album won’t see an official store release. I promise you that even if this initial purchase is the only means of obtaining a copy of the album, you will be able to pick it up off of a shelf soon enough.
But kudos to Radiohead for giving the biggest fuck you to the modern music industry I’ve seen yet.
This is incredible. Absolutely incredible. I have no idea what to say. This is abosolutely the coolest thing any band has ever done. Radiohead are the greatest band of all time. I mean good lord, if you told me that, I dont know, like the fucking decemberists or something, wwere releasing an album out of nowhere 10 days from now i’d be pumped. but damn, this is radiohead. oh and let’s just mention the whole choosing the price of the download thing. this is so cool. I believe that In Rainbows is going to save music. both in terms of the actual art they create and in how the approach the entire business. I love this band.
First this, then Okkervil River live on NPR…best birthday ever.
I’m more than willing to go the extra mile and drop $80 on the box set. Break it down like this:
Double CD album = $20
Double vinyl album = $20-25
Artwork (assuming it’s substantial) = $20
Putting it all in a fancy box set = $10?
Shipping from UK = around $15/20?
Major kudos to Radiohead for an incredibly wicked idea that is causing people to lose their shit worldwide. THAT is how you enter contract talks with labels.
yesssss. i have been waiting for this for so long. and 10/10 is my birthday. what a fucking fantastic gift this shall be.
I bought the discbox and gladly paid $80. Not only will I get the album on the 10th, but a nice set later with 2CD’s and 2LP’s. Good stuff.
The internet caused the record labels to lose complete control of the distribution chain. How many free-standing record stores are there? Branson couldn’t even make it work in the heart of Hollywood with Virgin. What’s great about this process is it spells out to smaller bands how you might make a living moving data as opposed to printing CDs and sourcing a contract from a label. That which has an audience can sell anyway it pleases.
the FUTURE is finally here!!!!
Bodysnatchers is on the album! Raaaah!
now you guys can’t do the premature evaluation for in rainbows.
Zing!
http://wintersox.blogspot.com/search?q=fair+warning
I don’t know. 4 Minute Warning. 4, that’s FAIR. In quote marks, 4 the party before. You know it. Here Comes the Party People.
Oh Boo-hoo America. Think about us poor souls in the Southern Hemisphere with our super-mega weak currencies and massive shipping costs!
That said I am still gonna buy the discbox. Still the most important band in the world today, hands down.
Weird Fishes? I hope Arpeggi turns out okay!
Anyone pre-order the download yet? Do you really pick your own price, or is this mysterious “transaction fee” something they tack on at the checkout? If it’s really pick-your-own-price, I’d gladly pay for it like a regular album. The whole concept is just too freaking awesome.
Yep, really pick your own price. Pretty great… looks like they’re testing the old “people will pay for it if it’s available and reasonably priced” argument against the record companies,
so, have any of you cheapskates actually entered 0.00 for the download, and did it work?
Yeah i paid zero dollars.. but that’s b/c i don’t have a credit card… my brother is buying 2 of the box sets one for me and one for him… zero dollars works perfectly and you don’t need a credit card… this way i will get my download though in 10 days
this is very very cool, and i love radiohead, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here… this doesn’t really change anything much, the only reason they can do this is that they are one of the biggest bands in the world, with one of the most obsessive fanbases… doesn’t change anything for all of those kids playing in garages and such, unfortunately the middleman (stores, itunes etc) is gonna be around for a while longer. that said, fucking ace!
I think Radiohead are doing some monumental here, but some people say if they had Radiohead’s money, they wouldn’t care about sales either. There’s a poll on pollsb.com about this new Radiohead move, check it out.
http://www.pollsb.com/polls/poll/2551/radiohead-to-release-new-album-in-rainbows-strictly-online-and-offer-digital-downloads-for-name-your-own-price-donation
Everybody and their mother must be ordering this right now because the site is crawling along at a snail’s pace.
The real question I have is what quality the download will be. I can’t imagine someone like Radiohead compressing the crap out of some mp3s for us. Hopefully it’s lossless.
I have always loved radiohead, and this “fuck you” to the labels just puts them over the top. They’re going to make money off this, probably a considerable amount. I don’t know of too many bands that could assume the risk of producing ten thousand (how many do we really think they made?) 2lp/2cd/art box sets with their own cash without expecting to file for bankruptcy. Radiohead’s problem is that they’ll sell too quickly and the ebay value will far outstrip their initial asking price. I guess it beats paying Timbaland a hundred grand to produce your single. Further, I think putting the album out by donation is genius. If they average three bucks a downloaded copy they’re still doing better than most bands whose fans just limewire the whole record. Oh, and since there’s no label, and they’re using their own servers for distribution, there’s going to be alot of profit. Even if I’m underestimating the amount of capital investment going on, this whole scheme just makes sense. I know it sounds like I’m just another starry eyed kid who’s fawning over Radiohead on a random blog (no offense Stereogum), but really I think this could be a reasonably important moment for the music business.
Also it is great to see House of Cards on the tracklist…one of my favorites from Bonnaroo.
I work at a PR firm and we are talking about how brilliant this is from a publicity standpoint.
I love Radiohead.
totally looks like person pitch. without the awesome collages. or the good music.
Where my “Spooks” at? On the one hand, I hope they changed the title and recorded a studio version… On the other hand, with only ten tracks on the album, I hope a two-minute instrumental isn’t one of them.
lol, fuck you it hasn’t come out yet.
this is the beginning of the end of record labels
don’t be surprised if they wind up with some sort of major lable affiliation before its all over.
sooooooo fucking ecstatic!
i kinda like the ‘In Rainbows’ title – simple yet flamboyant
so happy that ‘Reckoner’ is on here – PA! PA! PA!
also very intrigued about ‘Faust Arp’ and ‘Jigsaw Puzzle Falling into Place’ whether they are brand new never before played songs, or just changed the title of 2006 live songs
either way, FUCK. YAH.
That link leads me nowhere. Am I dumb?
This is really happening.
I see the order link is now gone
hope they track/report average donations a month in – would be interesting to see what people coughed up
Oooh 40 pounds, as a Canadian this gives me a chance to cash in on our awesome dollar. A year ago, this record would’ve been so much more expensive. Good timing Radiohead.
I’m with you Jib. I can only get it to go to the “in rainbows” frontpage, and from there the only link is to Dead Air Space. Can’t find the purchase option….
No more order link? But I wanted to pre-order like a good little consumer should. ;(
Buying this download is a nightmare so far. First I had no security code, then there was a security code but it said what I entered didn’t match. Then, that was $5.00 mysteriously added to the total. Anyone remember when Prince tried to sell that “Crystal Ball” album on his own? Also a nightmare.
So… Does that mean they already sold out of box sets? Was there a problem with the site because everyone and god preordered this thing?
It works fine for me.
This is a fantastic idea. I’ve been waiting for a major band to give a big FUCK YOU to the record industry and this is fantastic.
Seriously, I respect Radiohead and don’t want to be a dick and put £0.00 (but who’s gonna know . . . ?). So I think I’m going to “donate” a ha’penny. Actually, I’ve settled on £3.00. The “advice” page says a “45 pence bank charge may be incurred” which means about another $1.00 US. So that brings it up to almost what AmazonMP3 would charge for an album ($8.99).
What are you guys going to pay for it?
As people stated on here already, they will likely release an actual disc here in the US. God forbid if Target and Wal-Mart don’t have this for the holidays, there will be hell to pay!
This move will play on the psyche of an entire generation of people that have used the web as their main channel of discovering new music. I just hope that when this is all said and done, Radiohead will release the figures of what the average person actually paid. These numbers will make every label in the world shit themselves. Well, maybe.
Also, this move will raise questions about the seeming slap in the face to record stores. At first, I really thought that indie stores would be super pissed and burn Radiohead records in the streets. Well, not so fast. If you stop and think about it, this entire packaging scheme actually drives the value through the fucking roof because Radiohead fans will absolutely go to stores to purchase this uber-cd release. I hope indie record stores take a deep breath before they start smashing Radiohead records in the aisles. With an actual product of value and uniqueness, Radiohead may actually have an incredibly positive impact on driving traffic to record stores. Everything just changed. In the not so distant future, just putting an album out on CD in a jewel case will no longer be enough. Could the box set be the future of physical products? Holy shit.
The last bit is the utter disregard of lead time in press. They are totally avoiding leaks by putting this out all at once. When I first started thinking about this, my immediate concern was that, with no press time, who the hell is going to write about it and review it? It was at this point that I logged into my RSS feed reader to see if anyone was writing about it. Every music blog in the world had a bit about it. It is a music press coup unlike anything the world has ever seen. Most notable and interesting of all, Billboard didn’t have a post up about it when I first logged in. Only music blogs. Fans of music. Mainstream press, the folks the industry as a whole is aiming to please is now on the backside playing catch-up.
Ugh. Their server must be completely overloaded. I’ve tried placing my order about 5 times now and it keeps getting rejected. Damn.
Nice points, Josh. While I think the impact of Radiohead’s move on the distribution status-quo is easy to overestimate (see Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), it is ballsy and awesome nonetheless.
Yeah payed 0.00 but it’s because i have no credit card, i was settled for around 3/4 pounds to try out, but than came the CC information, i just wanted to paypal it, oh well tough luck. if it’s good (and probably it will be) I’ll just get the set.
I’m not sure if it was mentioned, but the 40 pounds price INCLUDES shipping. So there.
It doesn’t matter how much Radiohead makes from the record sales. They’ll end up charging $60+ for concert tickets anyway. I’d still pay that much anyway. What a huge fuck you to Smashing Pumpkins, two different tracks at Target and Best Buy. I am sad to say I’m from Chicago
Mikey,
You’re stretching with that Pumpkins reference. They were already signed to a label, and it was the label’s choice (and right) to try to generate extra sales that way, whether we agree with it or not. Plus, Radiohead weren’t broken up for 7 years and gone from the mainstream listener’s memory.
It would be like complaining how I want the Radiohead B-sides, but that it’s a ripoff to pay $80 to get them. Everyone knows, including the band, that you’ll easily be able to find those songs online once the boxset is released.
But you’re spot on with the $60 tickets.
I can’t even get onto ateaseweb! It’s Pandemonium! We are experiencing total
meltdown! Quick! Run to the nuclear shelter!
If you enter -10.00 (negative) for your suggested payment, it’ll actually add money to your credit card.
Radiohead’s set up it severly flawed.
Now if they can tour without Ticketmaster…
AHHH!! Superlative!!! Hyperbole!!! Exaggeration!!!
.. k?
did it actually just add 10$ to your account?
so maybe it’s flawed, or maybe they don’t care?
Hm.. that’s insane.
“album of the year, bitches.”
Seriously? Did you say that about Hail to the Theif, too? Because that certainly wasn’t album of the year.
And why are you calling us bitches, Christian? What did we ever do to you?
has it been 10 days yet?! I haven’t looked at a calendar since I heard the announcement but I’m sure it’s been at LEAST 6 days by now.
I’m pretty sure the internet is going to implode come the 10th.
Models, Flaws … I don’t care. (At least, not right now.)
They definitely gave the figure to the music industry machine.
And it?s beautiful. So beautiful.
Only Radiohead could do this.
$81 for a piece of history? Put me down for two. (Especially considering if the discbox package were released via EMI/Captial it probably would have been priced at $100 plus shipping.)
Pure beauty.
I never thought Mondays could be like this.
P.S. pape : ?Now if they can tour without Ticketmaster…? Amen!
I can’t wait to hear the new music and to see how they manage to make the most of the downloading system, choose what you want to pay? Great, we all know artists make most of their money from merchandise and royalties from adds etc…
A lot of articles are claiming that a 45p transaction charge is applied to all orders, but this is false. You can get the album for £0.00, and to prove it, I’ve got confirmation on my blog:
http://dimattiafilms.blogspot.com/2007/09/radiohead-revelation.html
I was never asked for any credit card information. This was just an experiment to see if it would work, of course. Through a seperate order, I offered to pay $5 (roughly £2.45), and the final order listed two items: the download at £2, and the transaction fee at £0.45. So, obviously, the fee is deducted from the price you offer.
As for k getting Radiohead to add money to his account, I have a good feeling they’ll soon revoke any orders that are set in the negatives.
Yes, let me throw money down b/c this is “history.” I’ll throw one box into my time capsule when it finally arrives. Mankind will benefit from experiencing this marketing move 50 years from now.
I know a guy who seriously predicted this more than a month ago. Below is his website. Give him due props.
http://www.thehogblogger.com/
radiohead hates freedom.
who’s radiohead? what the hell is going on….?
records? hahahahaha………..now i got to go dig up a 5000 year old, usless piece of equipment and scratch it w/ a needle….( insert two prong plug in 50 year old socket )….. fucking english!
I just pre-ordered the download for 6 dollars. That seems fair.
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