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Radiohead: Innovation Smackdown Page 1 of 4

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Reznor vs. Radiohead: Innovation Smackdown

By Eliot Van Buskirk 03.27.08

Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have been taking turns giving the music industry the finger. The British band made
headlines last October for releasing In Rainbows without the support (read: control) of a record label, and Trent Reznor's
group followed suit with last month's Ghosts I-IV.
The two bands have also been busy one-upping each other with their innovative promotion strategies. We were tempted to
let the groups coexist peacefully at the forward edge of digital distribution until Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor accused
Radiohead of betraying fans by selling them low-quality files. In light of Reznor's accusations, we put together a 10-round,
voting-enabled smackdown to find out which band is really blazing the trail of innovation.

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Click on the head next to the best argument in each round.

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Round 1: History of innovation VOTE

Radiohead: Released all of Kid A as a free iBlip stream in 2000.

2111
Reznor: For the 2007 Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero, Reznor used private torrent
sites to distribute videos, raw song materials and resulting remixes. Free USB drives
containing unreleased songs from Year Zero were hidden in the bathrooms of concert
venues. 7894

Round 2: Timing VOTE

Radiohead: Radiohead made waves first, turning the music biz on its ear with the
Oct. 10, 2007, In Rainbows release.
6927
Reznor: Though Reznor had apparently been contemplating ditching his label for
years, Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts I-IV came second, causing reporters to describe the no
-label release as Radiohead-style. 2826

Round 3: Digital formats VOTE

Radiohead: Pricing optional; DRM-free 160 Kbps MP3

2331

Reznor: $5 for better-sounding 320 Kbps MP3, FLAC lossless or Apple Lossless (all
DRM-free). First eight songs are free.
7481

Round 4: Substance VOTE

Radiohead: In Rainbows is a real Radiohead album with 10 (college) radio-ready

songs that many labels would have been proud to put their stamp on.
5275

Reznor: Reznor's sprawling, 36-song instrumental opus is either a brilliant

explosion of the traditional album format or an example of poor self-editing.
4448

Round 5: Breaking with the industry VOTE

Radiohead: Radiohead left its longtime label EMI but used traditional distributors
to place CDs in retail outlets.
2086
Reznor: Nine Inch Nails left Interscope/Universal Music Group and blew off
traditional retailers, distributing the CD version of Ghosts I-IV only through the
band's website. 7522

Round 6: Punk-rock factor VOTE

Radiohead: Refused to sell individual songs in iTunes Store.

1281

Reznor: Advised Australian fans to steal his music after Universal priced it at
AU$30 Praised Oink file sharing network

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