Radiohead allows you to pick album price

Radiohead is hoping to change the future - the future of music pricing, that is. The band is allowing customers to pick the price that they want to pay for a DRM-free downloaded version of the newest album "In Rainbows."

While users can choose any price to pay for the album, there is a minimum - one pence. An option to preorder the special edition boxset that includes a vinyl version as well as the downloads is available for £40 if you would like something just a little more physical (and better sounding, according to those audiophiles out there).

Radiohead has previously released six albums through Capitol Records but currently holds no record contract. That could soon change though as the band is seeking a traditional CD release early next year.

While Indie artists have often made their music available for free, this could bring a big change amongst major bands in the future. Record labels around the world are sure to keep tabs on this and some might even pay companies like MediaDefender (but probably not MD itself) to see how much the album spreads on P2P networks.

The experiment itself could just be to see the median price that people are willing to pay for downloadable albums. So if you think services like iTunes are overpriced, then let the record companies know by buying this album and avoiding it on P2P networks. Heck, even if you don't like Radiohead you should buy "In Rainbows" just to help prove the point to record companies - we don't want to be ripped on digital downloads. What's a couple of pence or pounds or dollars to prove a point, anyways?

So this bring us to the main question - just how much are you honestly willing to pay for a digital music album? Tell us the perfect price point over in the forums.