Radiohead - A History: Part 3

Published: Dec. 12, 2018, 5 a.m.

b'When you sign your first record deal, it\\u2019s usually for around seven albums\\u2026theoretically; this is to protect both sides\\u2026\\n\\nFirst, it offers the artist a degree of security\\u2026it gives the artist a few records to develop and mature so if they don\\u2019t score big with the first album, they\\u2019ll a little longer to establish their career and reputation\\u2026\\n\\nSecond, the label has a chance to see if their investment in this act pays off\\u2026the label puts all kinds of money into the artist up front and therefore needs the artist to turn profitable as soon as possible so they can make that money back and start seeing a return\\u2026\\n\\nBut a record deal is like a marriage\\u2026sometimes things go well and everyone lives together happily ever after\\u2026and sometimes (and for whatever reason), one party wants out\\u2026a divorce is in order\\u2026\\n\\nIt was this second scenario in which Radiohead found itself at the beginning of 2005\\u2026they had fulfilled their end of the bargain to EMI Records: six studio albums, a live album, half a dozen EP\\u2019s along with at least four video releases\\u2026and now they wanted out\\u2026 they had no wish to resign with EMI \\u2026\\n\\nBut were their options?... Option (a): negotiate a killer deal with EMI with the hopes of signing a contract that addressed every single one of their concerts\\u2026but EMI was in trouble, the smallest and weakest of the major labels\\u2026the internet was killing the company and management didn\\u2019t seem to have a clue\\u2026it looked like they were determined to drive the label into the ground no matter what they did\\u2026\\n\\nOption (b) sign with another major label when it looked like the entire recording industry was melting down, again thanks to rampant piracy and the disruption brought about by the internet...in other words, a contract with another major might be no better than signing with EMI \\u2026\\n\\nBut then there was option (c):\\xa0 go it alone and redefine what it would mean to be an \\u201cindependent artist\\u201d\\u2026after thinking long and hard about it, Radiohead went with option (c)\\u2026\\n\\nCrazy\\xa0idea\\u2026then again\\u2026\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'