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Radiohead Fans: Ears Open, Wallets Closed

So now we know what most of the devoted fans of Radiohead thought the art-rock band's new album was worth, given the option of choosing how much to pay for it: Nothing, as in zip, zero, zilch.

Consumer research firm comScore reported today that 62% of the listeners who downloaded the new "In Rainbows" over the initial four-week period it was put up for pay-what-you-want download last month opted not to pay the British supergroup a dime.

Interestingly, the 38% of people who actually ponied up for the 18-track masterwork by one of the world's most tuneful-yet-esoteric bands paid an average of $6. That's about right for a reasonably priced CD when you strip away all the record-company promotions, add-ons, and executive perks. (From American buyers, the average contribution was $8.05; outside the U.S. it was $4.64. Go figure.)

However, when you include the 3-in-5 free downloaders, that leaves an overall average of about $2.26 per album, not exactly a living wage for your basic global supergroup.

So for those who saw this ploy as the next step in the music industry's dissolution, think again. Radiohead will be releasing "In Rainbows" as a traditional CD, via a record label, in the future -- and the CD will be much higher quality than the low-bitrate, optional-payment MP3 files. It will be interesting to see if the giveaway up front depresses CD sales on the back end. As for the deluxe boxed edition that includes a double vinyl disc, a book, eight bonus tracks, and two CDs, well, there's a few Thom Yorke fanatics that will doubtless shell out 84 bucks for that, too.

Meanwhile, in another twist on the old music distribution system, the Eagles, who have always combined crass commercialism with Topanga-Canyon idealism, are selling their new 2-CD release, "Long Road Out Of Eden," exclusively through Wal-Mart.

As part of this deal, the Eagles are getting a $40 million ad campaign plus a larger slice of each CD sold. And forget about iTunes: "Long Road" will not be on the Apple music store any time soon.

Few of us could wish for the bad old days of 20-dollar CDs sold only via major labels that give struggling artists a meager cut of the revenue. But whatever new system is emerging will not necessarily prove any more conducive to good music emerging from up-and-coming bands.

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