TORONTO - Long regarded as music innovators, British band Radiohead is shaking things up even more with an announcement that fans can pay as much - or as little - as they want for a digital download of the supergroup's next album.
In a move that was quickly embraced by the band's supporters and had industry watchers buzzing, Radiohead announced Monday on its website that fans can set their own price for a digital download of "In Rainbows," to be made available digitally Oct. 10.
Many saw the move as a snub to major record labels and the hold they have on music distribution and promotion, noting Radiohead have been without a label since their contract with EMI expired in 2003.
However, the industry magazine Music Week reports that EMI is still in talks with Radiohead and that a conventional CD release would come early next year.
In the meantime, the band and its upcoming release enjoyed a flood of publicity Monday, with several observers hailing Radiohead as spearheading a new business model by cutting the record label and record store out of the equation.
"This could be seen as a turning point in the way artists and fans interface when it comes to the release of new material," said Alan Cross, Toronto host of the syndicated radio show "The Ongoing History of New Music."
"Here is a superstar band that is out to prove that record labels are not necessary. And if this works for Radiohead, could you imagine what will happen to other superstar bands who have the same means or greater to do a similar thing when their contracts come up?
"Record labels exist because of the good graces of their superstar acts. The superstar acts are the ones that pay for the operation of the label."
Radiohead fans who check out the band's order page find a blank box under the heading "price," allowing them to type in any number they want for a digital file.
"It's up to you," the buyer is assured in a message linked to the page.
The site says that a 46-pence bank fee (about C$1) may be charged. Buyers will be sent download details by e-mail and an activation code permitting them to access the file Oct. 10.
A special disc box, including the CD, a bonus disc, two vinyl records, artwork and lyric booklets, costs roughly $80 and can also be ordered through the site. The package would arrive in December.
Duncan McKie of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association said it was premature to predict the demise of record labels and stores.
He noted that roughly 80 per cent of Canadian record sales still come from traditional CDs and that labels offer artists a powerful way to reach consumers worldwide.
"You just can't ignore that," he says of revenue data.
"Whether you like them or not, if I were a musician cutting a record and I could do a distribution deal with a major label I would go for it. ... It's simply because you will get universal distribution. ... Accessing all those markets is your best chance of getting reasonable remuneration on that work."
Industry observer Jeremy DeBeer said the move was just the latest example of artists breaking away from major labels to gain greater control over how their music is marketed and distributed.
He doubted fans would take advantage of Radiohead's initiative.
"I would be shocked if people abused that. I would expect that people would pay fair market value for the tracks," said DeBeer, a law professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in music copyright issues.
"I think that what fans will appreciate most is the gesture and the creativity they're seeing from the bands that they love and that stands in stark contrast from industry associations and many of the major labels."
DeBeer said many music fans are fed up with paying as much as they do for CD and digital downloads.
"There's no doubt that the price of the physical CD is a form of price gouging and consumers are not accepting that. That's evident from declining CD sales. There's also been some consumers that feel the dollar-a-track price point that's emerged online, primarily because of Apple, is also too high."
"Models like this might actually signal to the industry what price consumers are willing to pay."
Radiohead is certainly not the first band to set their own terms when it comes to sales.
Singer Jane Siberry offers her songs as a "pay what you want" download, with the average price paid per song landing at $1.18, according to data on her website (). More than 90 per cent of the people downloading music paid the suggested price or higher.
Also Monday, it was announced that The Charlatans would release their new album for free through the U.K. radio station Xfm, with downloads of the first single starting Oct. 22.
The rest of the album - still being completed - will be available in its entirety as a download early next year.
"We want 'the people' to own the music and we want the artist, i.e., us, to own the copyright," Charlatans singer Tim Burgess says on the Xfm website.
"Why let a record company get in the way of people getting the music? We are excited at releasing our forthcoming singles and 10th studio album online free of charge through Xfm.co.uk."
Two months ago, Prince distributed his album for free as an insert in a British newspaper.
Cross said he expected to see more such unconventional experiments.
"This is just the start. It's going to get wilder."
