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RADIOHEAD
In Rainbows
Was it a revolutionary stroke of genius? Or an arrogant stunt? Regardless of what you thought of Radiohead's decision to let fans download In Rainbows for whatever price they liked, it was the one music-biz story that absolutely everybody had something to say about this year. And the veteran Brit-rock quintet managed to inspire all that fanfare with virtually none of their own — just a brief, simply worded announcement via the band's official blog on Oct. 1.
The best part of all came nine days later, when fans logged on to receive the literally priceless music. Waiting for those files to finish downloading was as thrilling as waiting for illicit online leaks used to be. Except this time, the band was in on the fun. We still don't know how many downloaders there were (or how much they ponied up), since Radiohead's management hasn't released sales stats. But for that one magical morning, fans around the world were listening to the tracks together — a digital spin on the once communal experience of unwrapping a record the day it hit stores. Amid all that futuristic talk, Radiohead rewarded their fans with something like nostalgia. —Simon Vozick-Levison
