ABSTRACT
On 10 October 2007, British rock band Radiohead self-released its In Rainbows album online using an optional pricing model that included zero payment. At the time, it was still a rather unconventional move, one that carried with it a perceived rejection of more established music distribution channels. For a brief moment, the distribution model itself became newsworthy, and delivered a significant cache of media coverage to the band. Additionally, there were two other similar success stories from the same period: American R&B artist Prince was a precursor, having distributed copies of his July 2007 album Planet Earth as a cover-mount on UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday; and industrial musician Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails gave away The Slip free of charge in 2008. What occurred within this very short period was a heightened awareness of how a select group of popular musicians acted independently. In return, they reaped considerable rewards in terms of audience building, product positioning and promotion.
