Radiohead Public Library

[cwr]

Is there any world in which EC would attempt something like what Radiohead has done with their new "Radiohead Public Library"?

I feel like there is so much stuff in the vaults that could never see the light of day is the post-CD era-- imagine the hypothetical "bonus discs" for every album from Painted From Memory through Look Now. The sheer amount of demos alone from all those albums is staggering, including songs that have yet to make it to an LP.

I wonder if some kind of subscription package would be enough to justify releasing a lot of things. Or would it be too much work to appeal to mostly the hardcore fans? What would it take to match the justification required back in the day for doing something as bold as the Rhino reissue series? How much demand would there have to be?

If Costello sold a subscription to a huge catalog of live material, demos and rarities plus, say, one new recording per week (something as simple as a voice and guitar demo recorded on his iPad), would there be enough demand to make it worth the effort of the venture?

[sulky lad]

It's a great idea CWR but I don't know what the demand would be. Based on figures from the 40 years ago project of live recordings seen on a certain torrent site, the demand for high quality (Soundboard or equivalent) concerts never exceeds about 300 seeders. Would exclusive live shows, such as the Concert For Kampuchea in 1979 or a support slot for The Police or Steely Dan or Bob Dylan garner many more than that? Hard to say but I guess the problem is with a 40 year old plus fan base ( for the most part) the size of commercially interested parties is also going to ( and probably has been for a while) diminishing/
Personally, my interest in demos also has waned and I don't really want to hear the phases a song went through if it's only about the recording process working it up from guitar and voice through different band or orchestral versions.