From the moment it was released, Radiohead's landmark In Rainbows album has been available for free download, including, notoriously, from the band's own website. But until now, there hasn't been a way to stream it for free online from a legitimate, royalty-paying site.
As of Wednesday morning, every song on Radiohead's In Rainbows is available as a free stream on CBS's Last.fm. If you have yet to buy or otherwise download the album, the site now offers an easy way to find out what it sounds like, or to grab a quick listen when you're using a computer that lacks your own music collection.
"We felt this was a fantastic means of offering a new way for people to discover In Rainbows," said Radiohead's co-manager Bryce Edge. It's perfect timing for the band's current world tour."
Last.fm co-founder Martin Stiksel drew a parallel between the bandand Last.fm: "Radiohead understand that the internet is changing musicdistribution, and we're extremely proud that they've teamed up with usto offer In Rainbows for free-on-demand streaming. We believethat music fans should be able to access music for free, and just asimportantly, that artists and rights holders should be paid when theirmusic is listened to. Last.fm makes this possible, and we're thrilledto be working with Radiohead to once again break new ground in digitalmusic."
With all the press coverage surrounding Radiohead's business planwith this album, one might be forgiven for forgetting that it containsmusic. To my ear, the songs on this record hold up big-time, sevenmonths after their release. (For me, the standout track is still the deep sea meditation "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," which gets stuck in my head all the time, but never in a bad way.)
A Last.fm spokesman says Radiohead is "consistently the most popularband on Last.fm." So far, the company has scrobbled over 100 millionplays of Radiohead songs by its users (the company offers a plug-in that can track your listening habits and share them with your friends).
Radiohead - In Rainbows free stream on Last.fm
See Also:
- 'Weird Fishes' Musical Slideshow
- MP3: Drum-and-Bass Cover of Radiohead's 'Weird Fishes' (Plus Tour Dates)
- Remixed Fish Raise Hopes of Conservationists, Practical Jokers
- Video: Radiohead's Entire Show at Small London Venue
Photo: TheFunkyMan
