Radiohead's new album free, some pay $200

LONDON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Radiohead fans paid up to $200 to download the bands' seventh studio album, “In Rainbows,” from their Web site, despite it being available for free.

Radiohead broke with their major record company, Parlophone, to release their latest album independently to fans with optional pricing.

The one-time download price listed at the band’s Internet site is blank, followed by a question mark, indicating fans can pay anywhere from nothing at all, to the maximum price of $200.

A survey by the Telegraph showed most fans paid up to $20 to download the album. A small percentage surveyed paid $80 for the deluxe box set, which contains two vinyl albums, a CD, bonus tracks, artwork and lyrics.

A quarter of those surveyed paid either nothing, or mere cents for the download.

The experiment by Radiohead marks a groundbreaking venture as the record industry is facing ever-decreasing record sales accompanied by an increase in peer-to-peer file sharing.