So blink and you’re behind the times. Radiohead have surprised us all and done something that isn’t boring announced that not only is their new surprise record coming out IN A FEW DAYS, it will be self-released, and — here’s the buzzworthy part — if you choose to buy the download vs. tangible version, you can set your own price. Anything from nothing to … however much it’s worth to you.

This will be a fascinating experiment to watch, and I hope that they will be forthcoming with data on how many people paid how much and how their take compares to their major label releases. My conjecture has been that given trust, loving, and relationship-building from the band, fans will voluntarily pay back to the extent they are able (click on the link for a theoretical explanation of why). Whether this works when a band is perceived as rich superstars will be a great test.

Major kudos to them for risking it. Color me impressed. Rainbows of impressed.

Update: Lots of intelligent and wide-ranging comments on this here.