As the music industry watches its profits continuously dwindle, not many were surprised that some artists began letting fans download mp3 music for free. With P2P and torrent technology beyond the control of the recording studios, some musical acts have decided to take the cost-free plunge just to get their music to their fans.

Fans were thrilled when, after a long hiatus, English rock band Radiohead finally came back onto the music scene with their 2007 album, In Rainbows. What’s made the release more dramatic was that they made the whole album available as free MP3 music. It was a surprising move, yes, but the band gained many new fans with that free release.

Radiohead was far from alone. British bands The Crimea and The Charlatans also made their latest albums available as free MP3 music downloads in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

The practice, however, is far from old. If you take a look on music blogs, you’ll notice that it’s a common practice for new and independent bands to release free music in order to gain exposure. The Arctic Monkeys, one of the biggest bands of 2007 and 2008, started out this way. The new element in this picture is that a well-known band like Radiohead did it, and that other mainstream acts may follow.

In reality, the artists themselves generate more income from live events than from record sales. Record companies are the primary beneficiaries when the record sales figures come in. Music acts are beginning to realize this and are focusing on getting their music out to the masses instead of campaigning to get their work sold on iTunes.