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Unorthodox online release sparks debate: Will it profit?

The mere mention of the legendary Oxford quintet provokes fierce reaction from most music enthusiasts. Proponents of their unconventional approach to alternative rock cry, "Thom Yorke is a genius!" and "Jonny Greenwood is the greatest guitarist of the last two decades!"

Others find their sound to be a mere extension of the masturbatory art-rock playground that Pink Floyd meandered in for two decades. Either way, their approach to the music business has been far from the norm.

They rebuffed ClearChannel concerts in favor of "Big Top" tent tour, they rebuffed alt-rock for minimalist experiments and they even rebuffed Tony Blair on climate change. They're a rarity in the music business: A mainstream group with worldwide popularity that moves to the beat of a different drummer.

With all eyes on the unpredictable British rockers, they've taken another giant leap forward. However, this time, it has nothing to do with music and lyrics.

After a four-year hiatus following the release of 2003's Hail to the Thief, Radiohead stunned fans and analysts, who anticipated a 2008 release of their seventh LP, by casually announcing via their blog that In Rainbows would drop on Oct. 10, 2007.

The strategy of an early release is smart, considering that album announcements two months in advance — Kid A, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief —are often followed with an Internet leak. With such a short time span between announcement and release, a leak seems unlikely to hurt album sales.

But maybe that's because they're practically giving it away.

On the group's website, Radiohead has given fans two options of purchase. One option allows fans to commit $82 for a strategically packaged "discbox," containing the album in vinyl format, fancy packaging and a multimedia CD with eight extra tracks. But if the audience doesn't care for the absurd Stanley Donwood artwork or the resurgence of long-lost tracks, fans can opt for the basic 10-track downloadable package.

The price? Well, that's up to you. If you decide the album is worth the standard $9.99 or $11.99 charge that music middlemen such as iTunes sticker their albums with, congratulations — you're maintaining the status quo. However, if you have chosen to rebel against conventional wisdom —and decide that music shouldn't be considered a purchase, Radiohead is willing to agree and charge you absolutely nothing for the download. (Of course, the credit card processor will still gladly charge you 90 cents.)

Needless to say, the music industry, fans and curious onlookers have reacted with shock, amazement and even giddy anticipation. For a music industry that has consistently failed to shove processed garbage such as the Pussycat Dolls and countless "Now That's What I Call Music!" compilations down our throats, many believe this may be the kick in the pants that the record industry needs to stay competitive.

Yet, the big question is, "Will this work?" If you mean, "Will more people listen to Radiohead?" Absolutely. If you're talking about profitability, the jury is still out.

First off, the distribution system is a little rocky. After Radiohead.com was flooded with fans eager to preorder the album and the website briefly crashed, the band assured fans that the process would be up and running shortly.

However, it might not be downloads that are directing so much traffic. According to a BBC report, most fans are still purchasing the expensive discbox option and those who are choosing their own price for the album, aren't simply donating pennies, they're actually contributing decent amounts to Yorke and Co. Yet, if many are indeed ordering the massive physical copies, the question remains — can a band with such immense popularity and no distributor actually ship what may be tens of thousands of copies throughout the world? We may have to wait until December, when the discbox releases, to find out.

Shipping issues aside, these could the early signs of a successful business plan. Perhaps.

Or perhaps it's more the sign of an intensely obsessed fan base that will go to absurd lengths to hear anything from Radiohead — be it a demo, interview or little Thommy Yorke's first piano recital at Abingdon School. Just check Ateaseweb.com, an unofficial website for the band that often rivals Radiohead.com in terms of Internet traffic. In summer of 2002, fans constantly stalked the band during their tour of the Iberian Peninsula. Not only that, but they often posted recordings of the same show, claiming one had slightly better sound quality from the others. Obviously, they already know the most of songs on the new album by heart.

So, with the anxiety of one of Pavlov's dogs, the spontaneous mention of an album release in 10 days sent fans into a panic. The only reason their website didn't crash earlier is because fans started frothing at the mouth and seizing the moment they saw the colorful background with the cryptic banner, ""In Rainbows."

Sure, the enlisted Radiohead foot soldiers may pay the band their dues, but what about the average consumer? What about those casual listeners who walk through Best Buy or Virgin and simply pick up a CD because the name or artwork "sounds cool?" Well, they'll have to wait. In addition to their self-release, Radiohead is working tirelessly (or so they claim) to obtain a new record deal after not renewing their arrangement with EMI, which ended when their six-album contract ran out.

Perhaps that's the right strategy — offer the basic album for free, give audiences time to evaluate the album, grow to love it and then, once they see that colorful presentation winking at them on the shelves, they'll have buy it. Right?

Well, that depends entirely on the music. The band doesn't anticipate a physical release until early in 2008. If listeners grab the album and play it into the ground within a few months, will the enthusiasm carry over into purchase six months later? Radiohead may be marketing masters, but for a band that's covered nearly every genre, the expectations are almost insurmountable. If the 10-track album is well-crafted, but has few groundbreaking songs, it seems they couldn't possibly awe the populace again.

But as a band that has pulled the ripcord on the music industry's "no surprises" mantra, it's unlikely they'll leave fans high and dry, especially for mere dollars and cents.'