Marillion album offered free online

4:52pm Wednesday 10th September 2008

A British band has become the latest to shake-up the record industry by releasing its new album on free, music-sharing websites.

Peer-to-peer websites have been at the centre of industry concerns about piracy.

But rock group Marillion is putting its album on file-sharing sites in a move which they claim is a world first.

A string of big acts have already blazed a trail in experimenting with new routes and revenue models to release their music.

Radiohead asked customers to pay what they wanted - which turned out to be an average of £2.90 - for their most recent album, In Rainbows, as a digital download.

Record labels have complained that illegal file-sharing is damaging the industry.

But offering free music for download is legal as long as the copyright holder gives consent.

Marillion hopes to recoup money by sending messages about their tour and merchandise to people who download their 15th album, Happiness Is The Road.

The band, who like Radiohead have cut-out the record label, were one of the first to release records through their own website in the 1990s.

Labels have been stung by online developments and spent years fighting, through the courts, companies offering free internet downloading and sharing of songs.

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