Radiohead are, without doubt, one of the biggest groups to have emerged from the UK ever. They are unique in being a modern-day British band just as loved in the Stated as they are in their native country.

When the band released In Rainbows in 2007 they also became great innovators, being one of the first artists to try and use the power of the Internet rather than try and rally against the new ways of distributing music.

Now, Radiohead are well on the way to releasing their next album, the eagerly-awaited follow-up to In Rainbows. Back in September, Ed O’Brien revealed that many of the songs for the next release had already been written, and fellow band member Colin Greenwood has now revealed the band are in the studio recording new material.

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There’s one huge story obviously dominating news of the Grammy Awards 2009 - Chris Brown being arrested for allegedly assaulting Rihanna. But that’s been covered to the nth degree in various different places, and the full details have yet to emerge.

So, as is my remit here at Brit Music Scene, I’d like instead to focus on the good that came out of this year’s ceremony. Several British artists went home with awards on the night, and they deserve the plaudits they are receiving.

Last year’s Grammy Awards were all about one British artist in particular, with Amy Winehouse winning five honors. She also performed live via satellite without screwing up, leading many of us to believe she was on the road to recovery. But that wasn’t to be.

The Grammy Awards 2009 saw the range of British artists winning much more diverse, and that’s a great indicator of the healthy state of British music at this point in time.

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The Zutons were/are one of my favorite current British bands. I got into them before most people did, before they were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2004. And well before they, or at least their music, crossed over to the mainstream when Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse covered Valerie in 2006.

With so much invested in the band, having seen them live a few times and having bought all their albums, I’m gutted to hear that they’ve been dropped by their record label, Sony BMG.

The split reportedly happened over Christmas after the record label decided poor sales of their third album, You Can Do Anything, were enough of a reason to let them go. Their last single before they were dropped, What’s Your Problem, also failed to make the Top 40 singles chart, which in this day and age is tantamount to a big failure.

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British music is probably the second most popular country-specific music in the world, with only those dastardly Americans beating us as usual. But being a mad British music fan who lives in the UK, I sometimes forget that other nations may see things slightly differently.

What I may see as British artists strengths could be seen as weaknesses in other countries. While a regional accent can help a band succeed in the UK, giving them an identity and a presence, it could go against them when they try and take their music abroad.

Is it possible that some bands are just too British to succeed outside of their homeland?

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What do you buy the man who has everything? OK, Barack Obama may not have everything but becoming the first ever black President of the United States is sure to have made most of his dreams come true. He’s also got a beautiful wife, and lovely kids. So what to get him?

David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative party opposition to Gordon Brown’s Labour Government, thinks he knows. The New Statesman reports that Cameron gave Obama the gift of British music when the pair met up in July, passing on albums by The Smiths, Radiohead, Gorillaz, and Lily Allen.

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Robbie Williams was once the cream of British Pop talent. Adored by millions of teenage girls while in Take That, he found incredible success when he decided to go solo, and at one time, was the best thing since sliced bread.

And then he moved to L.A., lost touch with reality, lost songwriter Guy Chambers, and then released Rudebox, one the most ill-conceived and overblown albums I’ve ever heard.

Not much has been seen of Williams over the past year. There have been the odd dalliances with the press, including the latest rumour that the singer is obsessed by UFOs and aliens. Other than that, he’s thought to have become a bit of a recluse and put weight on… again.

The biggest news from the Robbie camp came in January when it was reported that the singer had gone on strike against his record label EMI. This was after the label was bought by finance company, Terra Firma, and Guy Hands took over the running of it.

The Terra Firma takeover hasn’t exactly been popular with the label’s artists. Radiohead left the label and released In Rainbows on the Web and independently, while Paul McCartney also left EMI and signed up with Starbucks instead. The Rolling Stones then left to join Universal. And there are also rumours that Coldplay aren’t happy at the label, and are considering leaving after their next rushed release.

But it seems Robbie isn’t going anywhere, and his strike has come to an end.

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Radiohead are collaborating with their fans in ever more intriguing and interactive ways. Not only did they decide to give their album away for free, but they now seem to be regarding In Rainbows as belonging to the fans as much as it belongs to the band itself.

Such was the case with the new music video for Reckoner, which was actually made by a fan for a competition. The band liked the promo so much that they decided to make it the official video instead of just a contest winner. Thom Yorke was even impressed enough to give the video praise despite not quite being with it.

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The last Radiohead album, In Rainbows, was not only musically brilliant, but was also a revelation for the way it was released. Radiohead decided to eschew giving the album its début on physical formats, and instead chose to release it on the Internet for free (or as near as damn it).

But that all happened almost a year ago now, with the download being available from October 10th, 2007. In Rainbows has since been released on CD and vinyl, but it’s now time to move on, and the band are already working on their next album. In fact most of it is already complete.

After losing the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize to Elbow last week, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien spoke to BBC 6Music about the band’s forthcoming plans. According to the NME, he said:

“We’re still talking about doing some stuff and we’re really excited about it. First we came off tour to do some writing and we wanted to carry on doing it because it was so brilliant.”

Modest as ever, but it’s great news for Radiohead fans everywhere that a new album is already in the offing. If it’s already at that stage of completion, then I’d guess a 2009 release was on the cards. The only question left is whether the In Rainbows model will be used again, or will the follow-up see a much more traditional release?

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Radiohead may have started the trend, and The Charlatans then got in the act, but Marillion are the latest band to have decided to embrace the Web and give away their new album. Happiness Is The Road is to be a free download on file-sharing sites such.

This deal is different than the Radiohead offer for In Rainbows, where fans were asked to pay what they felt was suitable for the new album. The new Marillion album will be available as a completely free download, with the only catch being a pop-uip box asking file-sharers to give the band their email address.

The supplied address would then allow Marillion to contact these fans, both new and old, with details of upcoming gigs, merchandising offers, and news on what the band is up to next. Which isn’t too much of a compromise for getting a full album download for free in return.

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Elbow have won the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, beating the likes of Radiohead, Adele, Estelle, and bookies favourite Burial. The Manchester band won the annual music industry award for their fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid.

The prize was contested by 12 of the best of British acts from this year, all of whom were considered to have released the best albums from the past 12 months. The nominees were announced back in July, when I expressed my desire for Radiohead to win for In Rainbows. But it wasn’t to be.

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