The Times are a Changin'

Oh yes they are. After reading, here, that Ed Burns will release his next film exclusively on iTunes in November, it reminded me that Radiohead, a band I don't really care that much for musically, but have always appreciated their business sense and DIY principles, have cut out the middleman, too. They've released their last album solely online, themselves. There is no involvement with a record label. The beauty here is that the band gets to keep all of the profits, while keeping costs down for the consumer, and Ed Burns will likely enable more people to view his film, than otherwise would via a small, art house release. They're both going to cash in on the buzz that they will get by trailblazing this movement. With the improvement in technology, and the fact that most people have access to the internet via a high-speed connection, people who are in the film, music, or even television industries can more easily go out and do things themselves. What kinds of things - oh nothing major, just the kind that they would pay music labels or film companies big bucks to do. But, the funny thing is that bands have been doing this for decades, but once they get larger, they tend to hop aboard a large label and try to do things their own way. Radiohead is making a large statement against the corporation that is the record industry, and I'm all for it.