Radiohead, an unsigned rock powerhouse, has announced the October 11^th release of their latest LP, In Rainbows. However, there is a catch: this album is available only by digital download or as a collectable discbox on Radiohead’s website.

You can expect to pay a pretty penny for the discbox, which will include In Rainbows, the digital download, the CD and two 12” vinyl records, an “enhanced” CD with additional new songs, digital photos and artwork, lyrics and a hardback book and slipcase. All of this is priced at £40. If you want to pre-order the digital download—which will only get you eight of the 18 songs—you get to set the price!

Talk about bucking the system. 

Earlier this year, Nine Inch Nails made their Year Zero CD available on their website prior to its official release and challenged fans to deconstruct the music. After Prince gave his Planet Earth CD away, one blogger decided to upload it and make it available to anyone who could download it. While these are two entirely different scenarios, the premise seems the same: make the music as accessible as possible.

Taking it a step further, Radiohead is no longer beholden to a record label and must work to market and sell records for themselves. I’d say that making the album available by pre-ordered download as well as a boxed collection is a great way to start. If nothing else, it certainly has created buzz.

There are several questions that come to mind in light of Radiohead’s announcement. How will this affect the recording industry’s traditional model? If Radiohead’s latest release is successful – which I’m positive it will be – will this be the beginning of a new generation of independents? Will Radiohead’s respect gain them mainstream radio airplay and new die-hard fans?

Although independent artists are nothing new to the music business, Radiohead’s example could inspire other musical powerhouses to ditch their record labels to depend on their fans and digital media, ushering in a new era in music. An idealists dream? Perhaps but with artists like Radiohead and NIN taking a chance on digital media, the possibility seems closer than ever.