Details Released On The Radiohead Experiment Results: A Tremendous Success

from the good-for-them dept

While Trent Reznor has been very open in discussing the results of his various business model experiments, Radiohead has been notoriously quiet about it -- leading some to falsely assume that the experiment was a failure. CNN even called it one of the dumbest moments in business last year. That seemed ridiculous on its face, as it was quite clear that the experiment was a huge success for Radiohead, even if the band was quiet about the numbers. However, Radiohead's publisher has now come out and revealed some of the numbers and debunked the myth that the experiment was a failure (thanks to SteveD for sending this over). Instead, it turns out that Radiohead made much more money from this experiment than from their previous album. The band's music was spread much more widely than previous albums, with over 1.75 million physical albums sold (and that's not counting all of the paid downloads) -- as compared to its previous albums, which all sold in the hundreds of thousands. About the only downside to the experiment was that the band found itself talking about the experiment more than the music.

Now, of course, some will point out that this experiment isn't very representative, because Radiohead got a huge boost by being the first high profile band to do this. And that's absolutely true. But that doesn't mean the business model doesn't work at a more reasonable level. Obviously, Radiohead got a big boost from doing something unique and different, but that just gives other bands reasons to look at not just copying Radiohead, but adding more unique offerings themselves. That's how business models innovate, by trying out new stuff and trying to attract attention. Unfortunately, though, we still have big record labels who think business model innovation is having Congress protect your old business model.
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Filed Under: business models, free music, music, publicity stunts, radiohead


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  • identicon
    Eeqmcsq, 16 Oct 2008 @ 6:06am

    "that just gives other bands reasons to look at not just copying Radiohead, but adding more unique offerings themselves"

    Yeah, in other words, they have to compete, innovate, and stay fresh. Hmm, what a novel concept.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    some old guy, 16 Oct 2008 @ 6:07am

    This could never work for...

    This model could never work for talentless hacks.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Awesome Ethan, 16 Oct 2008 @ 6:15am

      Re: This could never work for...

      No, didn't you read the article? Radiohead did it.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 16 Oct 2008 @ 6:16am

    Yea..but this would never work for Coldplay

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Overcast, 16 Oct 2008 @ 6:21am

    "CNN even called it one of the dumbest moments in business last year. That seemed ridiculous on its face, as it was quite clear that the experiment was a huge success for Radiohead, even if the band was quiet about the numbers. However, Radiohead's publisher has now come out and revealed some of the numbers and debunked the myth that the experiment was a failure"

    So does this mean CNN and Fortune magazine are the dumbest Media outlets in the Business? Seems they were wrong indeed.

    I couldn't help but to Digg the old article and send CNN some feedback, lol

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Douglas Gresham, 16 Oct 2008 @ 6:26am

    And of course this isn't counting . . .

    . . . the other benefits like gaining new fans who wouldn't have bought their album and who might now spend money on scarcities like gigs.

    It's slightly disappointing that some are hanging on to the average price paid as if it's a meaningful number (I'll take making a dollar a time on a hundred sales over making 10 dollars on one, thank you) , but overall it's great to have these numbers out there.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Glenn, 16 Oct 2008 @ 7:37am

    sales numbers

    The key numbers are: In Rainbows has sold three million units total, 1.75 million physical units, 100k box sets. That means the CD outsold downloads, and the album was purchased from the band's website fewer than 1 million times.

    Like you said, this test isn't representative of what other bands would experience (Harvey Danger gave away an album years ago, but the event was not nearly as celebrated). But it was definitely a success. For some, success is measured by the number of copies that were not paid for. While I think piracy is cause for concern and needs to be addressed, revenue collected is always the best measure of success.

    Also, there's no way previous albums sold only hundreds of thousands of units. Not worldwide, and not in the U.S. OK Computer, for one, is multi-platinum in the U.S.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      greg, 16 Oct 2008 @ 10:10am

      Re: sales numbers

      all he said was 'previous album,' not 'previous albums.'

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        greg, 16 Oct 2008 @ 10:13am

        Re: Re: sales numbers

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        greg, 16 Oct 2008 @ 10:16am

        Re: Re: sales numbers

        however, i somehow doubt that their previous album hasn't sold more than a million copies since it was made available, approx 4 years ago.

        also, way to go allowing blank comments to be posted... you guys should throw an error, or at least ask for confirmation, when attempting to post a comment with no body (i accidentally pressed 'enter' at the wrong time)

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pk, 16 Oct 2008 @ 11:11am

    its a brave new world

    Awesome !
    This will open doors for the new bands to come!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    HFC, 16 Oct 2008 @ 12:30pm

    Nine Inch Nails

    So, how many physical copies of The Slip did Nine Inch Nails sell after allowing free downloads? It was released in a limited edition of 250,000 but went to number 13 on the Billboard chart. Radiohead wasn't a one off, they were just the beginning.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Alex Osterwalder, 16 Oct 2008 @ 2:09pm

    ppt slidedeck on business model innovation in the music industry

    The music industry is a great example of business model innovation, where corporate titans are trying to fight innovative start-ups with the wrong methods (lawyers)... Have a look at this slidedeck: Business Model Innovation MattersView SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: osterwalder alex)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Weird Harold, 27 Feb 2009 @ 3:13pm

    Actually, Radiohead's deal was a success only when compared to an album that got little or no support from the record label and did nothing on radio.support. Hail to the Thief was not a commercial success at all, and spawned no real singles or support.

    Conversely, In Rainbows was specifically commercial in nature and has spawed a few radio friendly songs, which goes a long way to making the album a success. The price isn't important if the music isn't very good, Hail to the Thief is a poor unit of measure to say if this was a success or not.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    peter jerry, 3 Nov 2010 @ 7:31am

    I read

    I read through the report and it was a great source of information. Thanks for providing the great read!


    Best Buy USA
    Best buy Store
    Discount electronics

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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