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There was so much hubbub made about Radiohead's revolutionary release of In Rainbows we thought it might be nice to get the facts on just how successful this little experiment was.
A bit more than a year since the October 10, 2007 pay-what-you-like self-release, some conclusive statistics were made available at the recent “You Are In Control" conference in Reykjavik, Iceland.
For those who missed coverage of the conference while engrossed in something as trivial as the Presidential Debates or the world economic collapse, the following is a summation of key answers to FAQs:
* In Rainbows has sold three million copies thus far, a figure that includes downloads from Radiohead.com, physical CDs, a deluxe 2-CD/vinyl box set, as well as sales via iTunes and other digital retailers.
* The In Rainbows deluxe edition sold 100,000 copies via Radiohead fan service W.A.S.T.E.
* Radiohead made more money prior to In Rainbows' January 2008 physical release than its total take on 2003's Hail To the Thief.
* In Rainbows was the first Radiohead album available on iTunes, where it went in at #1 in January, selling 30,000 in its first week.
In Rainbows also owns the singular distinction of being the first record widely regarded as album of the year in advance of its actual physical release: By the time TBD/ATO released In Rainbows to retail on January 1, 2008, the digital version had already topped the 2007 year-end lists at NEW YORK, THE NEW YORK TIMES, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, NPR, TIME, PEOPLE, ROLLING STONE, BLENDER, SPIN, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES and many more.
Radiohead recently concluded a world tour in Japan, one that sold over 1.2 million tickets.
Check our review of In Rainbows here, and check our live review from their summer tour here.
