How much are you willing to pay?

This is the question that venerable British band Radiohead wants you to answer. On October 10th, the innovative rock ensemble will stage the online release of In Rainbows, their 7th studio album. The band members will eschew both the standard label distribution and the now-familiar iTunes online distribution methods in favor of releasing the album themselves as a DRM-free MP3 download. And yes, you will pay whatever price you want to download it.

It's already being billed as an experiment in human nature. It's certainly a clever attempt to re-engage the Limewire music set, who long ago (at least, it seems that long) turned the recording industry on its ear with this simple but inexorable objection to buying CDs: why should I pay for something that I can get for free with minimal effort? Radiohead seems to be bent on playing the role of whimsical enabler.

Or maybe it's more than that. What I find most refreshing about all this is the fact that, in essentially conducting a series of one-on-one auctions with its users, Radiohead is handing over the reigns of valuation to its listeners and acknowledging, a posteriori, that the web has changed things. While many downloaders will go cheap-o and pay the minimum (1 British pence), my gut feeling is that a consensus surrounding fair value for the album will develop on blogs and in music forums, and an organic price point will emerge.

Will the album be any good? Nobody's really sure, because it's been zealously kept under wraps. But the process, anticipation, and goodwill surrounding the launch is a boon for an industry that's had its share of black eyes.

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