In Rainbows on Amazon MP3

Despite earlier suspicions that British band Radiohead would release its new album In Rainbows on the iTunes music store, digital shopping mogul Amazon is first to announce digital distribution of the new album, through its online MP3 store. According to Silicon Alley Insider, the band will be promoting the physical release of the album by streaming a free, hour-long concert featuring music from the CD, which frontman Thom Yorke says is a "wee celebration". Pricing for the album and tracks has been released, but prices typically sit at about 90¢ to $1 for tracks, while albums sell for around $10.

Radiohead earlier this year offered a "pay what you feel it's worth" approach to selling the album, which netted an average of $2.26 per album download, with two out of five downloaders paying only a penny for In Rainbows.

Earlier this month, Thom Yorke said that one of the biggest barriers to digital distribution of the band's music was due to its previous record deal with EMI – it didn't have any allowances for digital downloads when the multi-album contract was originally signed.

By Electronista Staff