I approve

This isprobably old news, but I read Radioheead are releasing their new album as MP3 downloads and giving the fans the choice of whether they want to pay for it or not. Someone commented that "they are the first band to put their money where their mouth is". This is nonsense, of course, as lots of independant artists have been doing more or that for years, but it's good to see a big name follow suit.

In the SF world, Charlie Stross did something similar with Accelerando and it didn't do him any harm at all. He possibly should have figured out some sort of tracking system so he could see how many downloads converted into book sales, though.

Personally, this makes me much more likely to buy the album, though I probably won't go for the €58 deluxe edition.

London ahoy!

Looks like I'll be in London (and Swindon) this weekend. More details when I figure out what they are...

NISFA - The first meeting

Tonight was the kick-off meeting of the New Irish Science Fiction Association. Although a new association, the first Tuesday meetings have a long history and the hope is to build on that.

Caitriona Hamman is the new organiser, thouh she's enlisted lots of people to help her. I've set up a new website at http://www.nisfa.org

The first meeting was mainly to discuss the future of the new orgaisation and to find out what people want, but future meetings will have a proper speaker and topic. Several speakers have already been booked.

About 20 people showed up, which isn't half bad given the relatively short notice, the lack of a speaker, and the soggy evening. Several people spoke up about what they'd like to see. There was talk about stronger ties with European fandom, particularly given the number of Europeans now living in Ireland.

I think we all went away with a very positive feeling about the future. Hopefully we can build on this to turn the new association into a vibrant and growing body. This can only be a good thing.