Radiohead’s hit dooms record labels

Two weeks after Radiohead asked fans to pay only what they like before downloading their new album "In Rainbows," financial numbers are beginning to surface. So are the bloated carcasses of record labels. Why? Because by all accounts, Radiohead cleaned up without having to share a pound.

According to one source close to the band, reports The Seminal, fans downloaded 1.2 million copies of "In Rainbows" through October 12, two days after its release. But you already knew Radiohead had a large fan base.

What nobody knew was whether fans would pay for a Radiohead album if they didn't have to. Certainly, the record labels had to be hoping they wouldn't. Too bad for the fat cats, because reports are that the average price paid for "In Rainbows" fell between $5 and $8. A low estimate of Radiohead's take in two days is $6 million. Sounds like bands with a following now have permission to skip labels.

http://valleywag.com/tech/digital-music/radiohead-estimates-doom-record-labels-313395.php