Trabalho Sujo

O assunto Radiohead 2007 mal começou. Olha a Time:

The ramifications of Radiohead’s pay-what-you-want experiment will take time to sort out, but for established artists at least, turning what was once their highest-value asset — a much-buzzed-about new album — into a loss leader may be the wave of the future. Even under the most lucrative record deals, the ones reserved for repeat, multi-platinum superstars, the artists can end up with less than 30% of overall sales revenue (which often is then split among several band members).

Aí entra o Bob Lefsetz e vai além:

“This is big news. This says the major labels are fucked. Untrustworthy with a worthless business model. Radiohead doesn’t seem to care if the music is free. Not that they believe it will be. Because believers will give you ALL THEIR MONEY!

This is the industry’s worst nightmare. Superstar band, THE superstar band, forging ahead by its own wits. Proving that others can too. And they will.

This is what happens when you sell twenty dollar CDs with one good track and sue your customers for trading P2P. This is what happens when you believe you’re ENTITLED to your business. This is what happens when music is a second-class citizen only interested in the bottom line.

There’s no testimonial to Jimmy Iovine on inrainbows.com. No thanks to Rick Rubin, never mind Lyor Cohen. Radiohead doesn’t need those stinkin’ badges. They’re THINKING FOR THEMSELVES!

What did that button say back in the sixties? “Question Authority”? That’s what Radiohead is doing here. They’re not holding back, saying their hands are tied, but are forging into the future.

You can’t make a TV show by yourself. Certainly not a movie. Not that anyone can see. But you can make a record all by your lonesome, it doesn’t cost that much. And you can say exactly what you want, you don’t need to clean it up for Wal-Mart. And, you can distribute it yourself online. That’s what Radiohead is doing.

Will they make a deal with a major for physical distribution? Will they do it themselves? Or will they leave ALL that money on the table? Shit, that would blow MY mind.

Resumindo a ópera, o Radiohead fez o que muita gente (eu inclusive) esperava que o Los Hermanos fizesse quando seu contrato com a Abril terminou e eles preferiram lançar o Ventura pela SonyBMG a lançar por conta própria. Só que agora não é uma banda brasileira promissora com um culto de fãs cada vez mais obediente. É a banda mais importante do mundo em atividade erguendo a mesa onde antes negociava seu trabalho com engravatados. Eles nem perceberam a inclinação da superfície. Em pouco tempo, a mesa vai virar.

Resta só agora ver se o Michael Moore faz um filme sobre direito autoral. E, em vez de deixar vazar online como fez com seu Sicko, usar a rede como veículo de distribuição.