NOEL GALLAGHER - NOEL GALLAGHER: IN RAINBOWS RELEASE WAS FREE MARKETING

NOEL GALLAGHER: IN RAINBOWS RELEASE WAS FREE MARKETING

Noel Gallagher has labelled the innovative internet-only release of Radiohead's In Rainbows as a bid to secure "free marketing".

The band's decision to release the album for download, with fans able to specify the price they were willing to pay, was viewed as a brave attempt to redress the damaging effects of digital music piracy.

But despite the marketing brilliance of the campaign, just 38 per cent of fans downloading the album parted with their money while the remaining 62 per cent of fans only paid the 45p handling charge.

Despite its relative financial failure, In Rainbows was hailed as a creative triumph for the Oxford quintet.

However, Oasis guitarist Gallagher said his band would not consider an online release of this kind.

"That's not our bag," he told BBC 6 Music.

"I didn't spend a year in the most expensive studio in England, with the most expensive producer in America, and the most expensive graphic designer in London to then give it away. F**k that."

He added: "To be honest, to me it looked like marketing – a great way of getting a load of marketing for free really.

"But good for them. That's what they do, they're rebels and outsiders."

Oasis' new album Dig Out Your Soul is released on October 6th.