Radiohead releases stolen ‘Ok Computer’ sessions

Eighteen hours of material from stolen minidiscs available at Bandcamp

Radiohead has released 18 hours of minidisc files that were stolen and leaked last week. Instead of paying the $150,000 ransom the thieves were demanding, the band decided to make the sessions available in their entirety on Bandcamp called Minidisc [Hacked].

“We got hacked last week – someone stole Thom’s minidisc archive from around the time of OK Computer, and reportedly demanded $150,000 on threat of releasing it,” guitarist Jonny Greenwood shares.

“So instead of complaining – much – or ignoring it, we’re releasing all 18 hours on bandcamp in aid of Extinction Rebellion. Just for the next 18 days. So for £18 you can find out if we should have paid that ransom.

“Never intended for public consumption (though some clips did reach the cassette in the OK Computer reissue) it’s only tangentially interesting. And very, very long. Not a phone download. Rainy out, isn’t it though?”

Each minidisc contains a single track that range anywhere from 17 minutes to over an hour each. Each one is labeled MD111-MD128. The 18 minidiscs will be available for £18 ($22.86 USD) instead of the $800 per studio track or $50 per live track the thieves were hoping to get on a Reddit discussion.

All proceeds will go to Extinction Rebellion, a socio-political movement which uses nonviolent resistance to protest against climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com