radiohead (again) versus emi records, a little spat…
The Guardian newspaper here in London reports that EMI had placed a misleading paid Google ad (see image above) referencing the word ‘Rainbows’ which is of course itself a reference to the new Radiohead album ‘In Rainbows.’ Here’s an extract. Full story here. Drastic times make for drastic measures I presume.
“Tension between Radiohead and EMI was highlighted again today when the band’s former label removed a misleading ad for the group’s back catalogue from the internet. Until the end of last week, anyone typing in Radiohead into Google would be met with a paid-for ad at the top of the search results reading: “Radiohead - New Album ‘Rainbow’ now available as boxset”.
Despite appearances, the ad led not to the special “discbox” edition of In Rainbows but to a website where EMI subsidiary Parlophone is selling a box-set of the seven albums Radiohead recorded while they were still signed to the label.”
Related Posts: In Rainbows, a review of sorts, EMI sells Radiohead WAV files
November 14th, 2007 at 1:00 am
great example that the label and the band are NOT on the same team. although would the band really be losing if someone purchased the back catalogue by mistake. at worst its still the fans wanting radiohead content…..the same fans that will be snatching up their label free releases. i doubt the yorke camp is losing much sleep over this.
slow radiohead news day?
November 14th, 2007 at 4:03 am
It’s true that Radiohead are not going to be losing much sleep over this, but this ultimately is not just about “In Rainbows” or back catalogue sales only, but about a misleading ad by EMI seeking potential customers in a search environment in which the users are hitherto uninitiated about the product. Hence the users effort to search and find out more about the product in question instead leads them trickily to another place – there are advertising laws against this practice. More details here: http://www.music2dot0.com/archives/82
November 14th, 2007 at 5:35 am
Yes, agreed. SEO being used by EMI Records to hoodwink Radiohead fans is part of the same inanity that has caused the record industry’s downfall…
November 14th, 2007 at 5:42 am
Also Radiohead did stick a knife in the record industry (not just EMI) in another way too. As I wrote in a longer piece here, they stuck it to the industry by self-releasing their album in the very quarter of the year that the music biz makes it biggest sales gains…..
November 14th, 2007 at 6:55 am
Radiohead + Nine Inch Nails + Prince…hmmmmm. It’s gonna be an interesting 2008, to be sure. Could 08 be the indie musician’s Paris 1968?