The Zentri Army is an astute bunch. We dig triathlons, live well, and embrace cool technology. Knowing this, I thought I would share with you some music from Radiohead's new album, In Rainbows.
Radiohead is known as a technologically advanced band and has an impressive following and resume of hits. Still, it was quite the shocker when they pre-released their latest record on the Internet, no copy protection, for whatever price you want to pay.
What does this have to do with triathlon? Two things stand out:
1. We triathletes listen to mp3 players like crazy. For some of us, the iPod revolution has been what has made triathlon training bearable. For many of us, listening to triathlon podcasts has educated us on the sport far better than anything else. With music, most if not all of what you like to listen to wouldn't exist if recording companies had their way. They explicitly forbid making copies of CDs or downloading music to play on your iPod. You just do it anyway.
2. Dave Empfield of Quintana Roo fame directly credits the explosion of the sport of triathlon to one thing - being able to sign up for races online. Once online registration became available, it was much easier for all of us to get on board. The Internet and improved knowledge of when and where races existed blew the field wide open.
As a music-using triathlete, you can appreciate what Radiohead is doing. The music industry is standing exactly where triathlon was the day before the first race director put his/her registration online. Record sales are declining, recording companies are choking sales even more by putting tighter and tighter copy protection on digital music to try to milk every cent out of a sale, and it is pissing all of us off. Within tech circles, everybody has been saying "you will sell more records by letting people copy the stuff and let their friends hear it." It's a new century and the old model isn't working.
This has nothing to do with whether or not you like Radiohead. I think they're OK and I'm not nuts about them. It's the size of the band that is important. If you've never heard of them, let me just say they are a big deal. Really big.
So what happens when a really big band puts their music online for download and charges whatever people feel like paying? Reports are that people are paying on average about $7.00 for it. Doesn't sound like much? It sure does when you remember that this is going straight to the band and bands usually only see $1 off of each sale. This and it is generating a huge advertising buzz (for free) to encourage people to buy the hardcopy CD with coverart, lyrics, and much more when it hits shelves in a month.
The reality for the bands out there is that most starve. Very few make it big and those are the ones record companies decide their fate, not the fans. By making their own music available for download for free, which spreads the word about their music, many more musicians are now able to play concerts and make money on their own and live comfortably without the "make or break" of the recording industry. Here is a great story about how Jonathan Coulton is doing it.
In honor of the brave move of Radiohead and also to help promote their cause, I put a couple of their songs in my latest podcast. The intro and outro is the jackhammering "Bodysnatchers" and the one about 30 minutes in is the delicious "House of Cards". You will want your best headphones to get the most out of that one.
As usual, the show is littered with audio of me doing triathlon things. I start off with recording part of my trip back to my house immediately after surfing for 3 or 4 hours. We wrap up with a conversation with Chris after trail running at Lake Bryan.
Enjoy the show, and visit Radiohead's site to witness the music revolution as it continues to unfold.
Shownotes!
- Mowing down pedestrians
- Emily rules
- Letting my hair grow out
- Surfing with my John Deere hat on
- House of Cards
- Trail running with Chris
Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 8:57PM 
Just days after being spied in the Northeastern woods, Jetpack shows up just one Texas city away. Seems that Triboomer reeled in the beast to Dallas and shaved/naired all the wilderness right off of him.
I discovered many things in New Mexico. The most significant is that I'm much more of a Texan and Southern Californian than New Mexican. Santa Fe may be a great place to visit, but it is no place for young families on a budget (compared to where I came from). I skeedadled back to Tex-ass after about a month of New Mexican living and went right back to living like the crappy surf riding, warm winter loving, redneck hillbilly that I am.