Walking Man Live

In 2003 Radiohead completed their obligation with EMI Records and decided not to renew their contract. This effectively makes them an un-signed band free of any recording obligations. How can this happen and will they miss EMI?

Record labels are only a small part of a very complicated music industry. The label’s job is to provide the support necessary to help a recording artist record an album. This is a very simple and broad definition of their responsibilities.

Lets break down all the different components that make up a popular musical artist.

Publishers- Radiohead’s current publisher is Warner/Chappell. A publisher acts as an agent to the lyric and musical composition. Not the recorded song. Before a song is even recorded, it usually needs a publisher first. In fact, it is usually the publisher who finds a studio or artist to record a song.

Occasionally record labels try to get artists to signup with the label as the publisher. In a smart move, Radiohead kept the 2 separate and do not need any record label to continue to write and publish their songs.

Manager- A manager’s job is to support the artist’s career and help them make decisions about where they want to go artistically and within the realms of the music industry. A manager does not book shows, and a manager should not be the band’s promoter. Their job is only to guide the artist.

Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge have managed Radiohead since their start in Oxford, England. These two guys probably know Radiohead better then anyone else and there’s nothing that will prevent them from providing the continuous guidance now that the label is gone.

Recording Studio- Generally the record label will provide a loan to the artist to pay for the recording sessions. This loan is called an advance and is repaid by the royalties earned. Some artists might go over a year before seeing actual income from the record due to repayments.

It is safe to assume that the members of Radiohead have personal finances, or enough access to credit to pay for their own sessions.

Promotion- Since the record label will invest a lot of money into an artist’s potential, they are usually the one behind the marketing and promotion. Radiohead has gone on a world tour, and released a #1 record with their own promotion. Also take into consideration that their new album, In Rainbows, had been sold with a “name your own price” deal, which included free.

Distribution- Once you have an album, its great to promote it, but you need to get it in the hands of the record stores, and most importantly, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, etc. Again, this is another area previously controlled by the labels. Radiohead opted to instead sign with XL, an independent distributor, with no long-term deals.

The list can go on taking into consideration merchandising, publicity, tour manager, and the many other factors that bring music to our ears. The point is that Radiohead decided to cut the middlemen and bring the music they want to the fans they want to reach.

Thomas Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway, Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge are the guilty parties who can be held responsible for the abolishment of the system we know today. In 50 years we will be a munch different place, most certainly for the better, because of these revolutionary artists and suits.