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A few days back, I wrote about the rise of the "Radiohead pricing model" that we've started to see crop up in other places like restaurants and hotels.

Digging a little deeper, it seems there are some environments where this has been going on for some time, Berlin's honesty bars being one example.


Posted by Ed Cotton Radiohead continues to demonstrate its understanding of the 2.0 world with its new remix contest.

Potential remixers download the elements of the track "Nude" from iTunes and then upload their remix to http://www.radioheadremix.com.

The band seems to have given up on the whole idea of free and instead charges a  $5.99 for the elements.





Browsing through the entries you quickly come across one that stands out from the pack; the remix, currently ranked No3 was created by a blogger(s) named Hipster Runoff.

It's interesting because it complete take down of the band and their obsessive/nerdy fans.

So far, it hasn't been removed and there's always a possibility it could win the contest.

It would be easy to remove it and have less to worry about, but it would be tough for the band to live up to in the long run better to have a sense of humor about the whole thing.

Unlike Radiohead, most brands aren't happy letting critics into the conversation, clearly in this changed environment, you have no alternative, but to open. You brand and your people have to be ready to take the rough with the smooth.

The more open you are, the more respect you are likely to generate and importantly, the more you are likely to learn about yourself.


Posted by Ed Cotton There seem to be no limits to Radiohead's cultural impact; all the headlines for the name your own price album, the upcoming New Year's concert on Current TV and Johnny Greenwood getting critical aclaim for his soundtrack to the movie of the moment, PT Anderson's "There Will Be Blood".

In additon, to all this the band has recently undertaken an audit of its touring practices with the objective of reducing the band's carbon footprint.(the audit can be downloaded here)

Here's what they found.

• Fan travel and consumption made up 86% of the Theatre tour and 97% of the Amphitheatre tour.
  
• Of the band’s touring impact – Travel and energy use accounted for 60% (Theatre tour) and ~40% (Amphitheatre tour)
  
• International travel accounted for a further 34 – 40% of impacts.

Short of no-one coming to see us, we’d like to share with our fans some ways of reducing this – our early research suggests that how you come to our shows can significantly reduce the tour’s carbon output. To help achieve better results, we’re trying to play as many shows as possible in city centres because of their better transport links. From the Best Foot Forward report, the rough figures below give you an example of how much of a difference you can make.


It's a good example of the environment playing an important role as a cultural issue. Clearly, the band isn't going to stop touring, but they are looking at ways of reducing their impact. This makes sense if you are Radiohead or even a brand on the grocery shelves. There can be no harm in taking a look at working out your impact, the challenge is once you've measured it, to work out what you are going to do about it.

In 2008, environmental statements from brands are going to come under increasing scrutiny.

Many brands are hoping that consumer fatigue will give them the chance to do nothing, others will take the opposite view and focus on real actions as a way to demonstrate their sense of responsibility.

Measuring your carbon footprint is a good start.


Posted by Ed Cotton Radiohead delivered onto the world a complete surprise; they released an album when everyone was expecting to have to wait a year for. They announced it a few days before launch. There's no ad campaign, no PR campaign, no hype, no leaks, no listening parties, no preview issues sent out to critics and journalists. No experts listening ahead of time and writing reviews, just everyone sharing the same experience at the same time, without the noise or clutter of expert opinions in the air.

The band made the news for the pricing story, but cutting out the hype, the critics and going straight to the user the band has created a communal listening experience, that's just as revolutionary as its famed "name your own price" model.

It will be very interesting to follow how the conversation develops and flows around this experience.

More thinking on the same theme here.

Image by Thom Shannon taken from the Flickr group In Rainbows album art competition



Posted by Ed Cotton Record companies helped establish and grow bands, they help build them into brands big enough to do away with the middleman and connect directly to their audience.




Posted by Ed Cotton Radiohead's new album release is a few days away and for a band without a record label, they are out of contract with EMI, so they have to take matters into their own hands.

Firstly, there's been no pre-publicity for the album, most fans were expecting it to be released next year and secondly the band are making the album available in various formats including internet download.

The most curious thing about the download is that the band are letting the fans decide how much they want to pay.



How is that for brand trust?


Posted by Ed Cotton