The Radiohead jump the ditch

For several days now, everyone has been talking about Radiohead's initiative to cut out the major labels and sell their new album, In Rainbows, directly from their own website.
The sales process has also been controversial, with the public being asked to make a free donation for the digital version of the album.
In short, there are two products for sale on the website radiohead.com:

The physical version is a luxurious disc box set containing two CDs and two vinyl records with previously unreleased material. One of the CDs is a mixed package with some tracks, images, and various artwork. The purchase also includes the digital version of the album.
The box set has a fixed price of £40 (about €60) and will ship starting December 3rd (pre-orders are accepted).
The digital version, on the other hand, is the new album without the extra material contained in the box set. I assume it's in MP3 format, but I don't know the quality (nothing is listed on the website; it would be nice to be able to download a lossless format as well). Most importantly, however, it doesn't specify whether the digital format is DRM-protected. Downloads will begin on October 10th, but you can also pre-order here.
The interesting thing about this second option, however, is the price: as they say on the website, "really, it's up to you." This means it's a free offer: the buyer can offer any price by typing it in the appropriate boxes. The minimum is zero (but if you type £00.00, you'll end up in a long queue, but then you'll move on; I haven't tried it; the maximum you can offer is 1 penny + 45 pence credit card fee).

This is not new. What's important, however, is that it's being done by one of the most famous bands on the planet, which gives others courage as well and, if that weren't enough, gives people a sensible argument: "This means that selling a record for little money is possible, so why should we pay €18?" Indeed, as the Times reports, the news, announced in four lines on the band's blog, left several major label executives stunned. According to the Times, one of them declared:

It sounds like another death knell; if the best band in the world wants to carry on without us, what's the future of the music business?

Prince started out among the stars, selling his album as a supplement to a magazine, albeit in exchange for a hefty check.
Now Thom Yorke adds to the heat, explaining the band's position in polite but forceful terms (in English):

I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say ‘F___ you’ to this decaying business model.

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