Sticking it to The Man's Rainbows

The biggest ethical and moral dilemma many of us will face in the coming weeks is how much to pay for the new Radiohead album.

Lots of news lately - here is the summary:

Radiohead is eschewing a label/distributor and taking their music directly to the people. You'll be able to download the upcoming In Rainbows from their website and set your own price (including £0.01)



What is your excuse for stealing music for the past many years? I'll share mine to get you started:

-Music is not sold how, when and where I want to buy it.
-Most music sucks today/I'll only listen once or twice.
-I'm not going to pay [too much] for a cd where I only like one song.


There are more, but that is the gist of it. The recent move by 'Head will force me to face my conscience and test this rationale.

Ooh, I almost forgot the best reason for stealing music: Sticking it to The Man.

We love sticking it to The Man. Usually, keeping my money in my pocket, and their cake in my cakehole is the best indicator that I've done some sticking.

The beautiful irony you now face is this : The MORE you pay Radiohead for their new record, the MORE you stick it to The Man. How much money will The Man lose? You get to decide.

If you are a Radiohead fan, you really have no choice. but to pony up. You know the record is not going to suck. In fact, all signs point to more creative greatness.

The point is, Radiohead is not catchy single ringtone pap. This is Album Rock, man. You'll need the whole thing...and you get to download it from a reliable file server whenever you like.

That pretty much dismantles all of the excuses I espouse at cocktail parties.

The only ones left are:

-I'm cheap
-Why buy when I can steal?
-Who cares if the music business dies?

You and I can grapple with those in the privacy of our own offices when filling out the following form.



So what did I pay?

I'll tell you if you tell me.