Radiohead said to shun major labels in next deal

Radiohead, the British rock band that is regarded as the pre-eminent free agent in the global music business, is close to signing a series of deals to release its next album independently and leave the major record companies behind.

The band, which stunned the industry this month when it let fans set their own price for the digital download of its new album, is close to a deal to release the CD version of the album domestically through a pact with the music complex headed by Coran Capshaw, the impresario best known for guiding the career of the Dave Matthews Band.

The band is expected to market the album internationally through the British label XL Recordings, according to people briefed on the band’s plans.

The independent labels appear poised to win a bidding war for the band’s album that had included suitors like Warner Brothers Records, Columbia Records and, at one point, Starbucks, whose corporate label has signed artists including Paul McCartney.

Read full article (New York Times, October 23, 2007)

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