Radiohead have always had a complicated relationship with streaming services, to say the least, and the latest twist in that saga is the band bypassing said services entirely, uploading their entire discography to YouTube.
The band’s YouTube library now includes all nine of their studio albums, from their 1993 debut Pablo Honey to 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool, the latter of which we recently ranked among the decade’s best LPs. Their OK Computer reissue OKNOTOK, King of Limbs remix album TKOL RMX 1234567 and recently released rarity “Ill Wind,” among other curiosities, are also in the mix.
As NME notes, “It is not clear whether Radiohead added the albums themselves or if it’s the doing of XL Recordings, who acquired the band’s catalogue back in 2016,” though we have to imagine this is the band’s doing, as opposed to XL going rogue. NME also points out that Billboard recently ruled that YouTube plays will factor into their album chart calculations going forward, so that’s one reason why Radiohead (or whoever) may want to offer their music to a wider audience.