Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Marketing and advertising
In Rainbows, the media scrutinized album by Radiohead, first released online last October, finally achieved a number one chart position in the band’s home country of England earlier this week. The album also scored a number one position in the Billboard 200 chart, after entering at #156 last week due to early releases. The release last week brings to a close the three months that media outlets have scrutinized the band’s decision to release the album online to fans at pay-their-own-prices, and demonstrates the “traditional” success possible after such a gimmick.
According to Billboard, the top position in Britain is the fifth time Radiohead has enjoyed such success. The band’s first number one album was 1997’s OK Computer, followed by 2000’s Kid A, 2001’s Amnesiac, and 2003’s Hail to the Thief. A new single off In Rainbows, “Jigsaw Falling into Place,” is set to be released in the United Kingdom next week, which will surely enjoy success on its own as well as promoting the album further.
Neither the band nor its management has released any viable information elaborating on the success of the band’s decision to release the album online, and the physical release — the “discbox” — which the band released alongside the download was unavailable to enter charts when it finally hit streets in early December. While it is impossible to determine what kind of precedent the download release and the new CD version will set for the music industry, Radiohead has enjoyed similar success in the past. Both 2000’s Kid A and 2003’s Hail to the Thief saw online leaks before being released and eventually enjoyed major chart success, a number one and number three in the Billboard 200 respectively.
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