why dont u make like radiohead?, everybody pay what they can for the music, so maybe i think is the best solution. I hope u can make the new album of P this year, is my favorite band all the times.....take care for now.....Kuriaki (K)
 

Why don't you go the Prince route and sell a membership to a site, cater to the devoted and do all the selling/distributing?
 

Yeah...I know you aren't too keen on this idea but it seems to be the way to go, 'the future' if you will...
 

hi there, what about the cash music idea (http://cashmusic.org/)... don't know if this could fit with the future of [P]????....all the best..;
 

As much as I hate to say it, when a band releases music for free/pay-what-you-want, as in, Radiohead and NIN, I find myself not enjoying it as much. I don't think it is that the quality of the music is worse than their other stuff, just that it leaves me with the impression that it is tossed-aside out-takes or something. Even though they ended up making tons of money, anyway. On that note, you sure you don't want to release anything for free? ....Also, Bob Dylan sold his song, and appeared in the commercial, for Victoria's Secret. Surely you could top that by selling your music to... okay, I don't think you can top that. Although I would buy a Portishead ringtone if I saw one. True! I look at what there is to buy as far as musical ringtones and it is all Britney Spears and Nickelback and the rest of the usual suspects. The best thing I could find was a Modern English song from almost 30 years ago.
 

Portishead was on a victorias secrect commercial s well.... and I would say they top Dylan,.. cause they did it first. Cheers!
 

Portishead was on a victorias secrect commercial s well.... and I would say they top Dylan,.. cause they did it first. Cheers!
 

Portishead was on a victorias secrect commercial s well.... and I would say they top Dylan,.. cause they did it first. Cheers!
 

Portishead was on a victorias secrect commercial s well.... and I would say they top Dylan,.. cause they did it first. Cheers!
 

I forgot about that! How could I forget that? ....Some local furniture commercial years ago used the live Roseland version of Glory Box in their commercial. I'm thinking it was not an approved thing, but I think I've proven I don't know much about these things, hah.
 

agreed!! Please please please come to the US?? Pretty please?....and do what makes the most sense to you guys... we love you the way you are :)
 

talking about the future of [P] is very good already. I'm sure you guys figure out what you'll be doing and i'll totally go n check out Crippled Black Phoenix as they play in my neighborhood on 04/09. ....Thanksd for the tip dude!..Ron
 

Whatever you do, keep releasing CDs, mp3s can suck my ass! If I'm gonna pay for it, I want something I can hold!!!
 

Ditto
 

agree, i don't want to pay for mp3s... keep releasing cds with artwork and stuff...
 

As long as you guys don't take over 12 years to relase a new cd again or ever break up i'll be solid with whatever ya'll do! lol Love all guys.....P.S. I think Beth should do the vocals for the end of new Lord of the Rings prequel movie there doing. She'd fit perfectly with her vocals for the end credits theme for The Hobbit.
 

None of your stuff has ever deluded me, so I will lay my trust on you! Always anxious...
 

Geoff,....i would recommend following the business model Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails recently invented. It obviously isn't for all musicians, but you guys definitely have enough of a following for it to work.....you should watch the case study Michael Masnick of Techdirt presented at the MIDEM conference here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njuo1puB1lg......[j]
 

eeee you guys are rad! ..go on tour ..XCORE! ..
 

thanks for the info on crippled black phoenix
 

Everyone moving to the digital age scares the shit out of me. I like having physical media, something tangible that I can touch. I know that if my harddrive crashes, I'll still have my Phead cds. With that being said, and me being a huge technology enthusiast, the world is moving to digital distribution. It's cheaper and you can reach a lot more people that way. Look into clever ways of marketing yourselves with the use of flash drives (I found a 2GB drive for $5 USD) and I'm sure you can find 128mb or 256mb drives for REALLY cheap since albums don't really exceed 70 - 100MB at 320KBps sample rate.
 

Come to the US to tour and I will pay mad money to see you!!!! Keep making awesome music and I'll keep buying...
 

i've always wished for an accapella album kinda like jayz's black album,..or .....i'm out of ideas......but i'd buy it on vinyl in a heartbeat......
 

......
 

I think you should follow NIN/Radiohead in that you just produce your own stuff... distribute it digitally either for free or for a small fee, and then package cds and box sets with extra features on your own. If you don't need the label then don't go with the label. Your true fans will pay for the music regardless of the format, whereas the people who would illegally download your music are going to do so no matter how you release it. Personally I own your first two studio albums and live in NYC on cd and your three studio albums on vinyl... those people who are diehard fans (like myself) will always pay for it. Look at how much money Trent made off of NIN's last release... you should follow that sort of business model. You have enough fans to do so.
 

well with all da crap out dere... ..i think u guys should stick to ur guns...aka. ur mode of record sales. ..we do live in a world where there are serious expenses in creating a record & just to survive. ..beautiful music lke yours should just not be given away.. ..my only rec. wld be to cut dwn on bureaucratic industry btw u & ur fans.. ..how?, will lve dat question for 1 more literate in dese things. ..as it is said in da hood in da US .."don't hate da player, hate da game.." ..;P ..much respect ..me
 

form an orchestra.
 

I would second going on the road... and i would love too see that... 3 was the best things i listened to recently... wow!
 

I'll try to check them out.
 

well i hope you continue to make albums. but i what i really hope is that you would come play for your fans in the US. all of us couldn't make it to see you at coachella.
 

start Obamapaloosa in the US! Give money to trillion dollar deficeit! Go on Bill O'Reilly as heroes! Have 14 babies, accept donations on website. Write songs about hope and change, not this gloomy business. And don't take too much fish oil, you'll burp it up all day long!
 

Why not go the route radiohead and nin went. They're still making sales and they still have their fans! Plus, I'm hooked on the P!!!!!!
 

Your followers / fans / supporters LOVE you. ..So whatever plans you have, you will be supported strongly. ..A tour to the US for your fans here, would be greatly appreciated as well!
 

you are Portishead. you can do whatever the fuck you want.
 

CD baby, or direct sales from your website. .. ..then, you could post some of your tracks up as remix kits, so that other musicians can remix your stuff. that would be pretty wicked. Kind of like NIN does. :)
 

Start your own label, sell your music on your website, and or exclusively through iTunes. What about a subscription model where people sign-up for x dollars a year and receive access to any new music you release? This would of course oblige you to produce a certain number of tracks every year. The fact that people are able to download music for free means that artists need to somehow add extra value to physical album sales. Perhaps some method of providing access to exclusive content, or creating a unique package that will make people want to purchase the physical album. I'm sure there are far smarter folks than myself who have spent a great deal of time attempting to solve this dilemma, so I am just going to stop rambling.
 

As far as selling is concerned, there arent too many brilliant ideas, you have digital distribution (set price or 'pay as you like'), CDs and Records in diminishing music stores.... however, I say development of a new style of presentation may be a wonderful idea. Imagine the next album as an cohesive aural visual journey -- Koyaanisqatsi style -- Get Michel Gondry on board again and you're set :)
 

hey, ima get one free copy ..and pay 45 bucks for the rest, i support change ..:)
 

Whatever you do dont sign any commitments to put out x ammount of albums in x space of time :)
 

Keep making wonderful music - oh please please please!
 

*Video game soundtracks* ..Television soundtracks ..Movie soundtracks ..and get played in an Itunes commercial somehow. .. ..Above all else take a tour of the US. I know that you could sell-out multiple nights at multiple cities. I know that it is expensive to arrange for the tour but plan it out and it will happen. We would pay a premium to see you. Have a contest for each city for fans to wine and dine you and house you whatever. You would be suprised of the results. .. ..In the near future there will be a DJ type equivalent to Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Get music on any and all of those for more sales and exposure. .. ..Love you all dearly. We've been around for awhile. Now we grew up and made some money. Come get it from us. Album and single sales are not the revenue stream that will lead you into the future.
 

I don't care how you sell albums, I'll spend the money reguardless,I just want to see a live show in Cali soon! I love me some portishead!!!!!!
 

You should watch this. It actually pays to give your music away for free if you have a large fan population... ..http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/02/video-trent-reznors-new-model-for-music-business-profits.html....Honestly, Im not really into buying musician's music just so they can have heated swimming pools. That was quite a shady comment if you ask me. Anyway not trying to be rude, and I really do like your music. I just think there is more to making, and selling music than getting rich off of it and having things like heated swimming pools. ;)....Hope the video helped. ....
 

it was a joke....
 

LOL forgive her
 

Just keep releasing your music on vinyl and I will buy all of it!!!!
 

...in records stores, of course.......chaOX!
 

Im telling you watch this http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/02/video-trent-reznors-new-model-for-music-business-profits.html and give Trent Reznor a call
 

You know I find this funny because people like me have been releasing albums with a Creative Commons license well before Trent did, yet he or Radiohead is somehow the innovator. And if you don't believe me: http://www.vorbis.com/music_links/. There I am 2005. :P Yet I didn't make a cent off donations and Trent comes out with 2 million. Not that I really care because money means nothing to me but I don't even have listeners! Then due to lack of proceeds, I lost my connection and as a result theclock.org. And of course Dethklok comes along and everybody thinks I ripped them off. Meanwhile, the Internet became a breeding ground for illicit behavior where everyone thinks that they can encroach on intellectual property. In return starting a chain reaction of job losses. Giving the simple minDead stroking their own egos more of a reason to hoard their nuts and continue the vicious cycle. To say I'm bitter would be an understatement. And it's not because of a lack of profits but a lack of interest. God forbid a song doesn't have lyrics or sound like a regurgitated pop hit! Art does not equal business but at the same time starving artists should eat. So who exactly is living lavishly? Trent Reznor who could have as well done without that 2 million and somehow got the false title as the trendsetter of alternative music business models. While Jamendo has long since been harboring a plethora of many very talented Creative Commons licensed artists that are completely washed away by the mainstream. Also, it doesn't help the indie scene is completely flooded with people who download illegal software to make it. So the true martyrs of music, the ones who do it because they love it and don't turn it into a product like most everyone else does are the ones that suffer, that get nothing, not even listeners. But at least at the end of the day, I can say I'm not a whore.
 

I can't help but agree to every single word all the way down to every little the and of and word that you just said. I won't lie when I say I'm a diehard NIN fan and an avid listener of Radiohead, but they were NOT the ones who started it all, as you said. It was the little guy who stashed away every paycheck they got at the end of the week, and made the effort to go to the store and buy the recording program themselves, compose and play their songs; and release them on their own be it by the internet or a burned freakin' CD. I work at an independant record store, and that's essentially why I see it. .. ..I'm not telling you this to inform you, I know full well that you know this already, but for other people to see it. Like The Clock here, I am a musician, who does it for the love of the art, not the money. For those who actually give a damn, the myspace is www.myspace.com/gunslinger90108. If asking someone to listen to your songs for nothing short of five minutes is whoring yourself, then I say to them fuck off, you don't know the meaning of the word. .. ..Bands like NIN and Radiohead are only considered the innovators and pioneers of creative commons licensing for releasing their music because they're the first of big names out there to do so. Other people can associate with that, simply because they're already successful. They've released gold and multi-platinum records, so of course what they're doing is the right course of action, a step forward. That's exactly what every 99 out of 100 people are thinking, because of name association. .. ..People can be doing something for as long as centuries, and until a big name comes along and does the same thing. Makes it doing the same thing, whether its art, government, agriculture , or any sort of action; until a recognizable name does it for the first time and brings it back for everyone else to see, they invented it. They're the father of it. The Innovator. Name Association. .. ..There was a band I spoke with via AIM, based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Their sound was so complex and mind blowing, I asked what equipment they used. In response, i was given a list of programs that you'd see in use at places like Interscope or Warner Bros. When I asked how they managed to come up with the money for them, being they were of a young age, I was almost insulted by the answer, not because it was mean (because it wasn't) but because of how much they had cheated. Piratebay.org was the answer. Go ahead wannabe's, go there right now and get ProTools and Cubase 4. Prove your appreciation for the art. The same band's album and EP can be found on iTunes and on store shelves. .. ..I know I ran far off course with where this response was going. I started off in hopes to make a suggestion to Portishead, and went on instead to agree with the Clock and state examples of why I agreed. Again, I am off course, which is why I'm going to suggest Portishead does something along the lines of maybe sideprojects, or jot down somewhere some plans for an interesting and different direction from where you're already going. I don't know how much different you guys can get, since you got that 007 feel to you that seems so right and unto itself, but look to go somewhere you haven't tried. Just my suggestion. .. ..Thus concludes my rant/suggestion