Radiohead To Release The “World’s First Newspaper Album” On February 19th
Radiohead has announced the Febbruary 19th release of "The Kings of Limbs" which the band describes as "the world's first* Newspaper Album". The asterik points to the band's caveat "*perhaps", but offers no real explanation of their use of the term. Radiohead's Newspaper Album pre-sale is a departure from their revolutionary "In Rainbows" pay-what-you-want model, but does include the kind of premium goodies that hard core fans love:
- Two clear 10" vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve and a compact disc.
- 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together.
- a digital download.
- It will be shipped on Monday 9th May with the download available Saturday 19th February. Shipping is included in the pricing: Newspaper Album + MP3 $48.00, Newspaper Album + WAV $53.00 USD.
But why does Radiohead call this the World's First Newspaper Album? The UK's Guardian suggests that, "newspapers – it's no secret – are suffering the same sort of woes as the music industry," and asks, "Is there some hidden clue here for how the print business will find salvation, too?"
Salvation is a lofty claim, but it is clear that this time around Radiohead has no intention of leaving money on the table. They're also offering a much more affordable digital only pre-sale with an mp3 at $9 and a .wav file for $14.
From the terms and conditions (http://www.thekingoflimbs.com/TnC.htm):
17. The newspaper parts of the Newspaper Album are manufactured using traditional newsprinting technology. Therefore there may be unique yet inherent flaws in the quality of print and paper.
http://sheerzed.posterous.com/the-king-of-limbs-where-are-you
And then putting out a CD two months later that all those same fans will want for their Radiohead collections, thus enticing them to pay twice for the same record. Sorry, I’ll take the freebie now and, if it’s as good as they usually are, get the disc when it arrives in May.
All ready done by the swedish band the ark.
http://www.ginza.se/product/product.aspx?identifier=12265