OK, slightly tongue in cheek – anyone who attempts to advance the music industry deserves kudos,. but here is a breakdown from “Wired”magazine. (Disclaimer: I think NIN are excellent, Radiohead can suck my balls.)
| Round 1: History of innovation |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: Released all of Kid A as a free iBlip stream in 2000. |
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| Reznor: For the 2007 Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero, Reznor used private torrent sites to distribute videos, raw song materials and resulting remixes. Free USB drives containing unreleased songs from Year Zero were hidden in the bathrooms of concert venues. |
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| Round 2: Timing |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: Radiohead made waves first, turning the music biz on its ear with the Oct. 10, 2007, In Rainbows release. |
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| Reznor: Though Reznor had apparently been contemplating ditching his label for years, Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts I-IV came second, causing reporters to describe the no-label release as Radiohead-style. |
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| Round 3: Digital formats |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: Pricing optional; DRM-free 160 Kbps MP3 |
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| Reznor: $5 for better-sounding 320 Kbps MP3, FLAC lossless or Apple Lossless (all DRM-free). First eight songs are free. |
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| Round 4: Substance |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: In Rainbows is a real Radiohead album with 10 (college) radio-ready songs that many labels would have been proud to put their stamp on. |
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| Reznor: Reznor’s sprawling, 36-song instrumental opus is either a brilliant explosion of the traditional album format or an example of poor self-editing. |
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| Round 5: Breaking with the industry |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: Radiohead left its longtime label EMI but used traditional distributors to place CDs in retail outlets. |
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| Reznor: Nine Inch Nails left Interscope/Universal Music Group and blew off traditional retailers, distributing the CD version of Ghosts I-IV only through the band’s website. |
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| Round 6: Punk-rock factor |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: Refused to sell individual songs in iTunes Store. |
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| Reznor: Advised Australian fans to steal his music after Universal priced it at AU$30. Praised Oink file sharing network. |
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| Round 7: Remixing policy |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: The band’s publisher initially tried to prevent Amplive’s In Rainbows remixes from released. |
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| Reznor: One of the reasons Reznor hated being signed to a label was that Universal wouldn’t let his fans remix his songs. Now that he’s on his own, Nine Inch Nails’ remix policy involves making raw materials available for use with Pro Tools or other audio programs. Bonus points if Reznor releases fan remixes on BitTorrent like last time. |
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| Round 8: Fan-made music videos |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: Announced a contest March 17 in which fans can submit concepts for music videos via video or storyboard. Ten fan filmmakers will get $1,000 budgets; one will get a $10,000 budget. |
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| Reznor: Three days earlier, Reznor called for fans to upload music videos for a special section on YouTube. |
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| Round 9: Smack talk |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: If Radiohead has said anything derogatory about Nine Inch Nails, we haven’t heard anything about it. |
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| Reznor: Called Radiohead’s strategy an insincere “bait and switch” move due to lower sound quality of the digital-only release of In Rainbows. |
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| Round 10: Initial revenue |
VOTE |
| Radiohead: The band made an estimated $2.4 million to $10 million in the first three days after In Rainbows’ release. (Note: Official sales numbers have not been released, nor has this estimate been confirmed). |
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| Reznor: Ghosts I-IV raked in $1.6 million in its first week alone, according to the band. |
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