Thom Yorke is most famously known for the widespread success of his band Radiohead. Their latest album In Rainbows caused a media frenzy when the band adopted a pay-what-you-like strategy, and Kid A was the #1 album of the decade on both Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. But it is not Yorke’s band or music that has spotlighted him in the media lately. It is his social activism and commitment to combating climate change.
Yorke played a central role in The Big Ask Europe, a movement which saw a law passed which requires the UK to cut its emissions by 80% by 2050. Even more, Yorke found a way in to the United National Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Although this event was not open to the public, Yorke found a way to get inside. "I'm here as a press person," he told a group of journalists with a smirk. "Do you imagine they'd let me in otherwise?"
The Radiohead website is now the host of Yorke’s blog, Dead Air Space, where he shares his opinions on issues ranging from environment and climate change to his favourite playlist of the week. Here is one of Yorke’s excerpts from Copenhagen:
“leaders are still apparently still having heated discussions. where? no-one knows?…….i have had a load of cameras and recorders stuck in my face now and tried to say what and outsider walking in to this madness might think. one who is perhaps concerned about the rise of global temperatures…..…..one who may have even voted in their leader on the basis that they may do the right thing on this issue….. i hope that the fog clears sometime tonight. but that they dont pretend to have an agreement that they do not. i hope this is not over.”
Like many other artists showing their support for Haiti, Radiohead played a benefit show for Haiti in L.A. last month. They played a 24 song set and raised $572, 754 for Oxfam
Most recently, Yorke announced he will play a Green Party benefit gig on Feb. 25 at Cambridge’s Corn Exchange. Yorke doesn’t usually get this heavily involved in politics, but the politician he is supporting is Tony Juniper, who accompanied York to the Copenhagen conference and was the director of Friends of the Earth, the organization that spearheaded the Big Ask campaign.
What sets Yorke a part from his industry peers is that he doesn’t include himself in these activities to ‘look good’ for the media and increase his positive publicity. These are causes he truly believes in. He has a powerful voice people will listen to. He knows what he does and where he goes will be documented by the media, so why not use that attention to spotlight something important? In fact, Radiohead’s In Rainbows distribution strategy created such a cultural, political and economic revolution, Yorke was placed 63 in The Guardian’s Media Top 100 2008 chart.
Yorke’s approach is great PR. More attention is drawn to him, leading to greater exposure and increasing his fanbase for those (very few and secluded) who may never heard of him or his little band Radiohead.
Overall Grade: A
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