Radiohead Makes Classy Move After Getting Hacked

Group releases the music to raise money for environmental action group
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 11, 2019 12:02 PM CDT
Hackers Hit Radiohead, and Band Turns It Into Charity
In this April 14, 2012 file photo, Thom Yorke, left, and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead perform during the band's headlining set at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.   (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Radiohead says a trove of unreleased music has been stolen for ransom. But instead of paying up to stop the music from being released, the band will release it in support of environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion, the AP reports. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood tweeted that about 18 hours of material from around the time of Radiohead's 1997 album OK Computer was stolen from singer Thom Yorke's minidisc archive last week. Greenwood said Tuesday that instead of paying the $150,000 demanded by hackers, "we're releasing all 18 hours on (music-sharing site) Bandcamp in aid of Extinction Rebellion."

Fans can buy the music for £18, or about $23, for the next 18 days. Greenwood said it was never intended for release and was "only tangentially interesting." Extinction Rebellion, which stages direct-action protests against climate change, thanked Radiohead "from the bottom of our hearts."

(More Radiohead stories.)

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