Update: In a confidential email to EMI employees, Guy Hands, whose private equity house Terra Firma purchased EMI two months ago, said the dramatic move by Radiohead was "a wake-up call which we should all welcome and respond to with creativity and energy".
Yahoo Music's general manager Ian Rogers tells label execs to do away with DRM and make it easy for users to get what they want.
He points out that convenience wins all the time:
"Want radio? No problem. Click play, get radio. Want video? Awesome. Click play, get video. Want a track on-demand? Oh have we got a deal for you! If you're on Windows XP or Vista, and you're in North America, just download this 20MB application, go through these seven install screens, reboot your computer, go through these five setup screens, these six credit card screens, give us $160 dollars and POW! Now you can hear that song you wanted to hear—if you're still with us."
Smartly AND eloquently put.
He also says that Yahoo will no longer sign with labels that place barriers between their music and their customers. Good on you, Yahoo.
Read the rest of his presentation.
arstechnica.com has a piece about the growing trend of defections by major bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails: Record label defections by major acts a troubling sign for recording industry
