Every once in a while, a news item dumps into my inbox that surprises even a jaded music critic like myself. That’s exactly what happened today. What’s the news you ask? Radiohead is releasing their new album In Rainbows on Wednesday October 10th. That’s 9 days from now. Why is that news? Well, first of all the album was slated for release some time in the spring of 2008. Secondly, the announcement is unusually close to the release date. But what really knocked my socks off (or at least would have if I wasn’t wearing shoes) was the way in which they are selling the album. By logging on to their website InRainbows.com, you can buy the new album in digital format without DRM (Digital Rights Management – or copy protection for the layman) for whatever price you see fit! Yes, you read right. Whatever price you see fit. So you can pay $59 per track or $0 for the whole album. It’s up to you. It even says so on the website!

For the hard core fans, there is also an option of buying the “discbox,” which contains not only the digital download but also the album on CD and on 2×12 inch vinyls for the audiophiles. The discbox also contains a second enhanced CD with more songs, digital photos and artwork and a hardback book containing artwork and lyrics; all for the not-so-palatable price of £40.00 (though I don’t think they’ll have any problems selling these boxes either). The discbox is set to start shipping on December 3rd, just in time for the holidays.

Why is the band doing this? Although I don’t actually have the facts in front of me, I can make an educated guess. Radiohead are long-time opponents of music files containing DRM, but at the same time, they are victims of widespread pirating as are every other major recording artist. By announcing the release of the album so close to its release, they are curbing any real efforts to leak tracks from the album prior to its launch date. And because they are selling the tracks DRM-free, there is no good reason for anyone to pirate them anyway. To top it all off, giving people the option to pay whatever they think is reasonable (and giving others the option to download the album for free) makes it downright stupid to get an illegal copy. Once again, a stroke of genius from the band that never seizes to impress.

The unfortunate thing is that only a band with a solid fan base and massive album sales like Radiohead can pull off something like this. I doubt the major record labels would allow this to become the standard for future record sales, no matter how smart it is.

Radiohead – In Rainbows