Radiohead has announced the Febbruary 19th release of "The Kings of Limbs" which the band describes as "the world's first* Newspaper Album". The asterik points to the band's caveat "*perhaps", but offers no real explanation of their use of the term. Radiohead's Newspaper Album pre-sale is a departure from their revolutionary "In Rainbows" pay-what-you-want model, but does include the kind of premium goodies that hard core fans love:
- Two clear 10" vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve and a compact disc.
- 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together.
- a digital download.
- It will be shipped on Monday 9th May with the download available Saturday 19th February. Shipping is included in the pricing: Newspaper Album + MP3 $48.00, Newspaper Album + WAV $53.00 USD.
But why does Radiohead call this the World's First Newspaper Album? The UK's Guardian suggests that, "newspapers – it's no secret – are suffering the same sort of woes as the music industry," and asks, "Is there some hidden clue here for how the print business will find salvation, too?"
Salvation is a lofty claim, but it is clear that this time around Radiohead has no intention of leaving money on the table. They're also offering a much more affordable digital only pre-sale with an mp3 at $9 and a .wav file for $14.
