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The Eagles and Radiohead may be very different bands, but both came up with creative ways to release and market their latest albums. The Eagles had parted ways with Warner Music Group and Radiohead's deal with EMI had concluded. Each group was in a position of strength with a loyal fan base and proven success. The bands, most importantly, wanted control over their distribution and marketing of their new albums, something the record labels they were meeting with could not provide them. Management for the bands had to come up with an alternative for releasing their albums. The Eagles decided to go with Wal-Mart with an exclusive deal that gave the band over $20 million in promotion and advertising support, an amount no record label could ever supply, according to the band's manager. Wal-Mart has other advantages as well, including 140 million visitors per week and have a circular weekly reach of 85 million consumers. Priced at a modest $11.88 (for a double CD) and using recycled paper for the packaging, the album was placed in strategic locations within each store by counters for impulse buyers, end-cap displays, in-store TV ads. The band will reportedly net $50 million from the project, earning more than any from worldwide sales in history, and be able to their masters.
Radiohead chose a very different route. The band decided to provide their album online for a pay-what-you-want amount as well as a deluxe discbox for $82. This method allowed for bloggers and websites to create a great deal of buzz which linked to the website. A key aspect of the pay-what-you-want scheme was a 10-day waiting period between ordering the album and being able to receive. According to the manager, this may have psychologically affected the consumer and caused them to pay more since the waiting period allowed them to see the value the album meant to them. Another thing the band took away from all this was an invaluable list of their fans who purchased the album online for means of keeping them in contact and updated. The band reportedly will make between $6 million and $10 million, or around double the amount they would have made off of a traditional record deal.