Radiohead's Bold Experiment Starts Today

There's been a lot of buzz about Radiohead's new album In Rainbows which is officially released today, and is available for download from their website. The buzz, of course, is that the band has chosen not to sign with a label for this, their seventh studio release, but will initially distribute it digitally through the internets.
Moreover, they are offering different combinations of what you can order. For example, for $81 you can pre-order (for December shipping) a "discbox," which consists of the 18-song In Rainbows on both a CD and on two vinyl LPs. (If I still owned a turntable, this would be the way I'd go.) It also comes with an enhanced CD with digital photos and other images, as well as additional songs. And, to top it off, the discbox includes a hardcover book of lyrics, artwork and other liner notes.
But the kicker is that if you just want the music, you can get it. And you set the price you want to pay. When you go to checkout section of the download page, you see a blank space where you can set your own price. Next to it there's a question mark . Click on it and the next page says, "It's up to you." Click on the question mark on that page and another page pops up that says, "No really, it's up to you." Pay as much or as little as you like.
It's a bold experiment, and there will be many people in the industry keeping an eye on how it turns out. Will the discbox be a hit? Will fans choose the "nothing" payment option? Or will the songs just wind up being traded all over the intertubes? Would the RIAA be able to stop that, since the band isn't necessarily asking for payment?
And what about the idea itself? On the surface it looks like Radiohead is shooting itself in the foot--giving away the music they worked so hard to produce. But the reality is that bands earn relatively little money from selling CDs (unless they are multi-platinum chart toppers). The real money comes from touring as it always has. So from that perspective, this distribution scheme may let Radiohead's music be heard by many new fans who would come out to see the band live.