The best live show I've ever seen was Radiohead performing at All Points West just outside NYC here in 2008 (though this recent Flaming Lips show was pretty incredible too). Radiohead's 25-song, two-encore set sounded amazing, the weather was great, and, well... it was Radiohead. I bring this up because the band, who famously self-released In Rainbows with a "pay what you want" model to great success, has just lent their music to a crowdsourced Czech concert film made up of 50 different amateur camera angles. Radiohead has much greater ownership of their music than most bands (they left their former label EMI because they wanted rights to the master recordings), and with ownership comes the ability to do something like this -- just because they want to. In fact, this fan-filmed show -- which has the same backdrop and a similar setlist to the show I witnessed -- is their first concert film since 1995. And not only is it free, but the highest quality version is available not through iTunes or Amazon, but BitTorrent.
While the concert film is similar in its crowdsourced nature to the Beastie Boys' Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That!, Radiohead's release is worth noting because the fans took it upon themselves to shoot it -- and then Radiohead stepped in and donated the sound board masters (without which the film would be unwatchable). Because this is "strictly not for sale - by the fans, for the fans," you can find it in its entirety on YouTube (I've embedded some songs below), or you can head to the downloads page where you can get it in HD quality from BitTorrent, MegaUpload, and other distribution methods that one normally associates with illegal content.
When it comes down to it, an act like this can gain one more fans and generate more good will than a thousand publicists. And you can only do it if you retain ownership over your creations - which I've harped on in the past.
15 Step
Nude
True Love Waits / Everything in its Right Place
Link: Radiohead Live in Praha
