UK alternative rock superstars Radiohead have announced that they will release In Rainbows, their next album, through their own website and for whatever price fans want to pay.

The reaction from the general internet public has been relatively frenzied, although almost overwhelmingly positive. The UK Telegraph's Shane Richmond even believes that Radiohead has "killed the record labels" with the move, and although my personal belief is that it's not nearly as revolutionary as that, it will definitely have a positive effect on the music industry.

Radiohead's strategy is significant for a few reasons. Per Richmond:

Unless the band have signed to a new label and kept it very quiet, they are now free agents. This means they get to keep the recordings they make and all of the profits from selling them.

Industry observers have often pointed out that the internet allows artists to sell their music direct to the public. Prince has been doing it for years.

The difference is that despite Prince's potency as a live performer, he is long past his peak as a recording artist. Radiohead remain one of the most influential acts working today. It's not hard to imagine young bands asking themselves 'Radiohead don't have a label, why should we?'.

The point about keeping all the profits themselves is an important one. In their previous deal with EMI, Radiohead would only take a very small portion of the money received from every CD sold, and only after their label had re-imbursed themself for financing the recording and production of the album.

Although Radiohead are now allowing fans to buy the album for whatever amount they want - even nothing - they will, presumably, receive 100% of whatever amount fans do pay without any record label to pay off. 100% of $10, $5, even $1 is better than 1% of $30.

But where a band like Radiohead makes the real money is in touring, and that's where the real value of this strategy will make itself evident. Radiohead are now the biggest story in music, and have been ever since the release of this news story, and that can only help their future concert ticket sales. They were huge before, but now they are riding an incredible wave of goodwill from fans all over the world, some of whom will be keen to repay their generosity when Radiohead stop in at their local arena.

Giving away an album for free could be the best financial decision Radiohead ever made.

They will also make an incredible amount off the deluxe edition of the album, which will sell for almost $100 Australian. Again, with no record label in the picture Radiohead take 100% of the profits made on every copy sold, and since it's being sold on a pre-order basis, they need outlay no money in advance. Fans are paying for the manufacturing and production themselves, Radiohead makes all the profits. Sweet deal.

They will also now have almost complete control over the quality of what's released. Where in the past bands were cursed with premature, bad-quality leaks, everyone will now be able to get a high quality, band-endorsed, almost-free version of this album. Why download it illegally from a torrent website when you can get it directly from the band? Since it's a digital-only release, they are able to record and release it with a blisteringly fast turnaround, evidenced by the fact that it will be released a mere week and a half after the story first hit news outlets.

This strategy will probably be completely useless to all but the biggest bands in the world, those who can use their financial strength to pay for a professional recording in advance, and their reputation to make worldwide news.

But it is undoubtedly good news for the average fan on the street, sick and tired of being treated like a criminal by record labels. Perhaps now they will sit up and take notice of what's possible with new technology in the new musical landscape.