AOTS: Radiohead’s new one leaves J-fans confused

A few weeks ago I appeared on Attack of the Show on the G4 Network, a lively half-hour of gaming, gadgets, and geek news. Among other things, we discussed Radiohead and how their new album would be received in Japan. The video is below:

I only bring this up because I went to a Radiohead-themed party on my birthday last weekend, and was able to confirm what I long suspected: Not only had most of the hardcore Japanese fans I talked to NOT heard the new Radiohead album In Rainbows, but they didn’t understand the pricing system one bit.

When I told them that they could, indeed, choose a big fat ZERO as the price, they were quite uncomfortable with that idea and found it dishonest. This aspect, combined with the English-only website, makes it very difficult for the average Japanese person to get the album at all. Radiohead is an international band, but blew it with their website when it comes to free-spending Japanese fans.*

As a side note, I’ll be on AOTS again on November 20th at 7 pm EST.

* Anyone know where I can find data on In Rainbows broken down by country?

Tags: AOTS, Marketing, Press coverage