Smith clarifies Radiohead comments

Robert Smith has clarified comments he made in a recent interview regarding Radiohead's pay-what-you-like release model for their In Rainbows LP.

The Cure frontman had said that he "disagreed violently" with their approach and that allowing the consumer to dictate value was an "idiot plan" that could not work.

Smith said on his blog: "No, I am not confusing 'artistic value' with 'commercial value', merely questioning the dumb acceptance of the 'Freemart is the new paradigm - that's just the way it is' mantra.

"My point is neither particularly new nor original."

Smith added that "idiot critics" had tried to turn his general point which used the example of "marketing ruse" In Rainbows into a "mock shock horror how dare anyone question the famously independent and anti-capitalist Radiohead" moment.

He also questioned how artists would earn their living if "art for free" became the "cultural norm".