Radiohead album gets deal for label release?

Despite yesterday's announcement that the new Radiohead album In Rainbows would not be ready for a CD release by a major label in December, Billboard reported late yesterday afternoon that the band is already "closing in on a deal for the physical release of its new album." According to Billboard, the band may be moving forward than originally anticipated, with several major and independent labels aiming to acquire the band, including Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) and their former label EMI Group PLC.

Billboard also comments "there was some speculation Radiohead would not sign a new deal with a label at all, but group managers affirmed that it was a necessary step." And a most unfortunate necessary step at that, especially with the monumental success and talk generated by the band's decision to quickly release the album on their own via their website. The problem with needing a major label is that pricing again becomes a question. The most buzzed about part of Radiohead's self-release was the fact that fan's could set their own price for the downloads.

I find it highly unlikely that any serious Radiohead fan and any music listener would not take up the opportunity to set their own price for a much talked about album, and instead wait for a label to release the CD version. We can't deny that some fans and listeners may not though and that is why an eventual CD release is critical, no matter if it includes the "traditional" aspects of the music industry trumping how much control fans have enjoyed this past week.