New album from Radiohead for free

Radiohead, the internationally renowned band, has taken the unusual step of telling fans that they can pay as much or as little as they like for the band?s new album In Rainbows. In a break from industry tradition the UK band famous for hits including Creep, Paranoid Android and Karma Police, has told fans ?it?s up to you? what they pay to digitally download the album. This isn?t the first time that an artist has opted to charge nothing for its album, but the move is significant because Radiohead remains one of the biggest bands in the world.Radiohead is free to sell its album directly from its official website because it is no longer tied to a record label. So far the album is only available to pre-order from the website, where it can be downloaded on release on October 10.



While loyal fans are likely to want to pay the band something, customers could opt to pay as little 45 British pennies - the credit card handling fee. The album is also available separately as part of a £40 box-set which includes the album on CD, two vinyl records, a CD with additional songs, photos, artwork and lyrics. It is Radiohead?s first album since Hail to the Thief, which was released in 2003 after which the band?s contract with EMI/Capitol expired. It is likely that many of its millions of die-hard fans will be unable to resist buying the box-set, available in December, while Radiohead will not be required to share its profits with either a record label or shops. That?s a good example worth following by other artists!