2. + Early years
Radiohead are an English rock band who first formed in 1985 whilst attending
Abingdon school. The band began to record demos and performed live around Oxford
at various venues. As their live performances started to increase producers and record
labels started to become interested in their work and the band signed a six-album
recording contract in late 1991with EMI. In 1992 Radiohead recorded their debut
release ,drill, which did poorly in the charts. However, a year later the band released
their single „creep‟ which was initially unsuccessful but several months after release it
became a hit worldwide after they released their debut album Pablo honey in 1993.
After the release of Radiohead‟s second album, The bends (1995), their popularity
started to escalate in the UK and by the third album, ok computer(1997), greater fame
internationally emerged. The popularity of this album was so great that the record was
even considered a landmark record of the 1990‟s.
3. +
Radiohead‟s success
The 2000‟s appeared the be the height of Radiohead‟s fame
with the release of Kid A(2000) and Amnesiac(2001) as
Radiohead took a more experimental route with their
musical style marking an evolution of their music.
Radiohead incorporated experimental electronic
music, post-punk, Jazz and Krautrock influences to produce
something new and exciting for audiences. By 2003
Radiohead released their album hail to the thief which was
the final album released via EMI and by 2007 had sold over
25 million copies.
4. +
Record label
Parlophone is a subsidiary of EMI who are the fourth largest business
group of record labels in the recording industry being one of the „big
four.‟ After the Beatles had signed to parlophone it managed to make
parlophone well known and successful. After EMI‟s major successes with
artists such as pink Floyd and Duran Duran it meant that their
subsidiary, parlophone, has a great deal of money thus Radiohead have
plenty of money to produce the songs they want and don‟t have to worry
about financial costs. The influence of the company could be the
explanation as to why Radiohead have little interest in money and since
the company is so big it would explain why they left EMI when inviting
fans to „pay what they want‟ for their In rainbows album as this isn‟t
appealing for a large money making company.
5. +
Current record label
After the 6 year contract with parlophone Radiohead currently have no
record label or distribution partner to cut the costs with. This is due to
Thom Yorke believing “ the mainstream music industry in dying.”
which is valid considering Emi may be getting bought out. With the
success of in rainbows and it‟s unique selling point it has proved
Radiohead doesn‟t need a mainstream record company to help this
distribute their music and the sales for their album they released
independently were great. In recent news Thom York has announced
that Radiohead's music will no longer be available on twitter as he
believes this isn‟t the way forward and this was a way to protest at their
paltry royalty payments. The band stated streaming sites cannot work
as a way of supporting new artists‟ work.
6. +
The website
Band name dominates the home
page and works as a logo for the
band drawing their attention to
the band rather than their image.
Alternating background, switches from black
and white, connotes newspapers which
suggests their fame as musicians and shows
how their music isn‟t gender specific.
Designed to look like thorns, works in
sync with green banner to give the latest
album a „forest‟ theme.
Icons placed at the bottom and are a smaller
scale suggesting the band themselves are the
most important aspect of the website.
Newest album the second attraction
through bold font.
7. + Website pages
Contradicts with the overall
image of the band as there
goal appears to be
producing music they are
passionate about but by
having a store portrays how
they are still interested in
making money and selling
themselves as a mainstream
band.
Fans can become members, allows
them to engage with the band and
opens up the band to younger social
media using audience.
Posts from the band
allows the band to
speak directly to
their fans and keep
them constantly
updated on their
lives and music.
Promotion of latest album so fans
are aware and have all the
necessary information
8. + Other online pages
Online pages for Radiohead
include a Facebook page, in
which fans can post opinions
and get into contact with the
band and twitter which is used
for the same purpose. These
social media sites appeal to the
younger audience as this is
their most accessible form of
information. These sites also
work as a way for the band to
stay in contact with fans as
they allow them to post recent
activity and keep fans
updated.
Other online pages include online
music pages where fans can listen to
music online for free.
9. +
Album artwork
All album covers feature
creative designs rather
than your stereotypical
cover which will feature
an image of the band
which gives an impression
of their music being
creative and unique. They
also appear to be very
experimental and artistic
which could also be a
reflection on the style of
music they create.
The band appear to be shying away from the
limelight and show no interest in selling their
image or using it as the main selling point.
10. + Album promotion
The release strategy of Radiohead's in rainbow
album took a unique approach which allowed
fans to pay whatever they wanted for the
digital copy of the album. This generated a
massive buzz due to the fact the audience had
full control of the pricing.
To follow this Radiohead also hosted a
contest, alongside aniboom, to allow fans to
create the music videos for the tracks on the
album. 4 winners were chosen by Radiohead
themselves for the following tracks:
transmutation, 15 step, reckoner and 16 tracks.
This portrays how the band lacks interest in the
money making aspect of music and care only
for what they produce which is clear through
there other action also such as allowing the
pyramid song to be used for commercial
purposes for only $1.
11. + Music video analysis
The music video opens with a dolly shot going
across a pool of water which appears pixelated
making the viewer feel slightly delusional as they
wonder what they are seeing.
The camera finally reveals a form of man made
island which gives a sense of isolation and being
away from reality
An abnormal person made out of geometric shapes
then walks into the frame. He is captured at a low
angle, placing the audience in the position of the
water as if we are beckoning him to join us. This
low angle makes the character appear superior
and almost threatening to the audience as he is
unidentifiable.
12. + As the character dives into the sea a white
beam can be seen connected to him and the
island he came from which resembles an
umbilical cord and gives this sense of the
ocean being a womb.
Under the water appears to be a city which gives
a sense of the audience entering a parallel
universe alongside the man and provokes the
audience to feel uncomfortable as it is against
the normal place for a city.
A point of view shot is used to place the audience in
the position of the man allowing them to experience
this under water land as well. This encourages the
audience to examine the visuals and try to make
sense of this location. This goes against the typical
conventions of the rock genre as point of view shots
are rarely used which portrays the video is narrative
based.
13. + A long shot of bones appears
connoting death and makes the
underwater place appear like a
graveyard.
A torch is then shone towards the camera, forming a
white screen. This works in sync with the previous shot
of the bones to connote death as it gives a sense of
„going into the light‟ and reveal the character is likely
to die.
The character then returns to what appears to be his
home and once sat in his chair the „umbilical cord‟
disconnects connoting a suicide as the character is an
adult thus it cannot be a birth. However, this appears
calming for the audience due to the calm visuals of the
character in the chair and gentle music.
14. + Goodwin analysis
The overall style of the video goes
against the general conventions of
a music video from the rock genre
as it features no live
performances, being an
animation, and has no typical rock
instruments present such as electric
guitars. Lacks typical demands from
record labels such as close ups of
the band to sell their image. It can
also be said the video is
intereferencing an animated short
film through the video style.
There is a clear relationship
between the lyrics and the
visuals as they work in sync
to create a narrative. For
example „ I jumped in the
river‟ as the character dives
into the water and also „ all
the things I used to see‟ as
we are shown everyday
objects such as chairs and
houses.
The music works in sync with
the visuals as the characters
footsteps work alongside the
piano cords which sound as
he steps.
15. +
Conclusion
The band appear to have a unique outlook on their music and how they wish
to distribute and produce it. The fact they have decide not to continue their
musical career with the support of a record company portrays how the band
are independent and want to express their creative talent in new ways which
wouldn‟t be adaptable with a strict mainstream record label who want money
more than talent. This is clearly demonstrated through their „pay what you
want‟ campaign for their album in rainbows. Although this would appear to
be a bad move in the music industry and audiences may take this for granted
and use it as an opportunity to get their music cheap the band know well
enough that their true fans will not abuse this system and thus the technique
proved to be successful and created massive buzz which allowed free
publicity. From their attitude in interviews and their releasing of in rainbows
it is clear to see the band lack interest in making money and create music
purely for the pleasure and this is clear from there non-typical techniques
displayed on their websites and in their music videos such as not selling their
music on their appearances through lacking images on their website and
close up shots in their videos.
