I'm hoping that some of you have better memories than myself here, so i'm calling for a bit of help. I've been thinking about the release of In Rainbows and how it relates to some of the work in my PhD and i realised that, 'honesty box' aspect aside for a moment, Radiohead have used a number of different and sometimes unique methods of promoting it - Scotch Mist, Nude remix competition, animated video competition etc etc - which add up to quite an effective digital media based campaign. Can anyone think of any other slightly unconventional means of promotion that they've used? I suppose there was the Rough Trade instore thing and i think they did something for Radio 2 aswell?
Also, i guess Radiohead have long be known to not follow the path of least resistance and often attempt to try new things, arguably disguising promotion as art, or even the other way around. Are there any other aspects of past releases that stick in the mind as being particularly unusual?
Any help or input is greatly appreciated...Cheers
The only thing I can think of
with regards unusual promotion for In Rainbows that you haven't mentioned are their webcasts, often in collaboration with comedians and filmmakers such as Adam Buxton. Some examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7MkQJuaOrc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3n59Tn8iho
btw, what's your PhD on?
i think also
on the promotion for kid a they did not do anything and marketed the brand of "radiohead" using advert blips (which are on youtube)
it was loosely based on naomi kliens concept of selling a lifestyle not a product
I wasn't aware of this...
Cheers.
It's hard to summarise, but the PhD is essentially about the relationship between digital media technology and low-level cultural production (e.g. independent music). Well, that's one aspect of it.
Those advert blips also sound interesting. Any particular tag i should be using to search for them on youtube?
just
radiohead kia video blips
there is about 10 all together i think and they were put on at bizarre times in the tv schedule.
The book No Logo by Naomi Klien summarises the advertising they undertook quite well IMO.
The kid A live show was the big top tour in the UK and in France they played in ampitheatres.
.....
not particularly new.... but they did perform a tour of medium sized venues in 2006 in Europe and UK where they played several new/unreleased songs to roadtest them. Although, that's a very similar process to what they used in 2006.
Also, they have used their website/blog (deadairspace) to post snippets of lyrics, either with reference to a song (e.g. videotape) or more obscurely (faust arp).
Also, not necessarily direct promotion, but remember that individuals within the band have kept up their profile musically, such as Thom Yorke's solo album "The Eraser" and Jonny Greenwood's classical work (most notably his soundtrack for "There Will Be Blood").
Also, a big part of their tour promotion has been the "environmental" aspect. A few months ago they posted a report that studied the environomental impact of their recent tours and have, apparently, tried to play shows in venues that are as accessible to public transport as possible.
But there's also alot of aspects within the "honesty box" that are far simpler than "pay what you want". The album was available to everyone at the same time, including journalists, which meant there were no reviews to swing listeners opinions prior to their first listen. And of course, the limited edition discbox was available with additional tracks/vinyl/artwork etc..
Also, the eventual physical CD release of In Rainbows featured a "make your own cover".
With regards to webcasts, the band also tested out the webcast stream with two mini webcasts before the main "thumbs down" webcast... where you could basically see them djing and mucking about.
For Kid A
They released no singles, videos or promo tours. They did no interviews, complete radio silence. In spite of this Kid A scored no 1 albums here and in the US, largely due to the fact that fans had managed to download the album months in advance of its release....see here for more Kid A related info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_a
you could also argue that releasing Paranoid Android as the lead single from OK Computer was an unconventional and challenging move...can't remember whether it made #1 or #2 here in the charts. either way was a bold statement
paranoid android got to number 3 in the uk
uh
they did a tour for Kid A. i went to it. it actually started several months before the album came out.
...
To promote 'The Eraser' XL painted their headquarters with the album artwork, presumably with the intention of internet coverage, and they put listening posts shaped like the character on the front of 'The Eraser' at various London landmarks (which I can't find a picture of). There was one on a bridge in London.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v322/supergongie/DSC03601.jpg
found it
http://shop.xlrecordings.com/haveyouseenthisman/