I'll admit and do so proudly that I am a huge Radiohead fan. I can hardly wait for each new album to come out as they are truly a sensory experience, that takes several listens to fully comprehend and their latest album King of Limbs is no exception. 

 

Radiohead if you didn't already know are an English alternative rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke vocals, guitars, piano, Jonny Greenwood guitars, keyboards, other instruments, Ed O'Brien guitars, backing vocals, Colin Greenwood bass, synthesizers and Phil Selway drums, percussion.

The band has never stayed true to their original sound which is always changing from album to album and just when you think they will do something normal they take risks isolating fans, record labels, but always staying true to their core making critically acclaimed award winning music on their terms.

Guerrilla lesson learned? Fail fast.

Business Lesson Learned? Never get comfortable, make great innovative products.

In 2007 they released In Rainbows, as a download through their website for which customers could make whatever payment that they deemed appropriate, including paying nothing at all. The site only advised, "it's up to you". Following the band's sudden announcement 10 days beforehand, Radiohead's unusual strategy received much notice within the music industry and beyond. 1.2 million downloads were reportedly sold by the day of release.

The band explained the release as a way of avoiding the "regulated playlists" and "straightened formats" of radio and TV, ensuring fans around the world could all experience the music at the same time, and preventing leaks in advance of a physical release. Guerrilla lesson learned? Go out and make your own channel of distribution, do it on your terms. Business Lesson Learned? Focus on what you do well, cut out the middleman and find the shortest path to your customers.

Radiohead took a somewhat similar approach for the release of The King of Limbs. On February 14, 2011, the band announced that the album would be issued in five days as a fixed-price download with physical releases to follow. Standard CD and vinyl versions were scheduled for late March via XL and TBD, while an elaborately packaged double 10" vinyl/CD set was scheduled for early May.

The hitch they released a day earlier on a Friday, turning the release of the King of Limbs into a kind of mass listening event and causing the music critics and mass media to scramble to write reviews and for fans to enjoy the album.

Fans and critics have wildly divergent reactions to The King of Limbs. Some think it's one of the band's best efforts; others find it too low-key or similar to previous work; a few consider it awfully doomy, and a few others wish it were less abstract.

In essence a typical Radiohead album, one that gets people talking.

Guerrilla lesson learned? Make the common...well...uncommon, an event something worth talking about.

Business Lesson Learned? Create something meaningful and worth discussing over the water cooler, stop being vanilla.

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About the Author:
Scott Olason is the founder of Breakaway Creative, a full service design company located in Phoenix, Arizona, offering branding, web, and graphic design services to growing companies, start-ups, and non-profits since. Olason, a well seasoned design professional, started the company back in 2006 after working on numerous high profile brand projects and web promotions for NASCAR, NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBC for companies such as: Axient Communications, Action Performance, McArthur Towel & Sports, and Winners Creative Group.

For more information on any of Breakaway Creative's services please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.breakawaycreative.com.