Did rock superstars Radiohead steal local band Paper Arrows’ idea?
When local indie outfit Paper Arrows recently finished recording its album “Look Alive,” the band was eager to let people hear it.
“I really wanted feedback on it,” vocalist Joe Goodkin said, “and the fastest, cheapest way to get it was by e-mailing mp3s.”
Within hours of walking out of the recording studio, Goodkin had e-mailed his group’s new music to several people.
“That process was so easy and instantly rewarding, we thought that we could expand it in scope and spread the word about the band through some viral marketing,” he said.
Paper Arrows, including bassist Jay Marino and drummer Darren Garvey, decided to release “Look Alive’s” title track as a single via e-mail too.
Anyone can have the single for free, Goodkin said, as long as they join Paper Arrows’ mailing list and forward an e-mail about the song to a few friends.
“I had no idea what to expect, but it was a huge success,” he said. “The song made its way to England, Italy, Russia, as well as all over the U.S.”
This alternate approach to releasing new music isn’t entirely different from Radiohead’s online album release, in which fans were able to download the group’s entire “In Rainbows” record for whatever cost they felt was reasonable. Goodkin was happy to see the gamble pay off for Radiohead, even if, he joked, “They stole our idea and got all the press!”
Joking aside, Goodkin thinks more and more bands will begin using alternate methods of releasing their music.
“The bottom line is that more music in more people’s hands eventually leads to more exposure for a band,” he said. “I don’t care what Lars Ulrich [of Metallica] says.”
Listen to Paper Arrows’ “Look Alive” from the album of the same name on redeyechicago.com/chitunes.
Paper Arrows
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave.
