These are interesting times in media. Interesting is code for holy !!*&^#!?!, what's next?

The subject crosses my mind all the time, but it occurred to me again while listening to Radiohead's new album, "In Rainbows." Which you must get. It's at once jazz and electropop and alt rock and symphonic — it's transcendent. But I digress.

I have this album because a friend at KITV burned me a copy. Nothing new there, we've been stealing/sharing (depending on your point of view) music since the cassette-tape days. But Radiohead took it a step further, bypassing layers of record- company distribution and marketing, and the associated costs, offering it direct to the public on their Web site, www.inrainbows.com.

And if you download the digital album, you can pay whatever you want. Which means just that. Pay nothing if you like.

The funny thing is, though I didn't get the album from the Web site, I found myself visiting it to leave money. It's a great album; Radiohead should be rewarded. Some may argue that the achievement is the reward. That's nice, but it won't get you a mocha frap at Starbucks.

Musicians delivering directly to fans is fantastic because I no longer have to keep some fat-cat record executive up to his elbows in mistresses and cocaine. Nor do I have to skulk around on Web sites like Limewire for songs I used to own on tape.

Of course, lots of people don't think twice about taking songs or programs online, and think I'm a rube for paying. They're especially prevalent in my 22-year-old brother's generation. He and I had an interesting exchange in which he asked, starry-eyed, if shareware proved communism could be a success. To which I replied, Yes — if the Internet had a strongman who systematically slaughtered the people who couldn't be supported by the network.

And that's the crux of it. Maybe we're not supporting record execs anymore, but Tower Records closed. Hollywood's writers are striking because they're trying to secure their piece of the entertainment diaspora scattered across the Web. And newspapers are being upended because more people are getting news for free online. Now, in addition to putting out a paper, we produce breaking news, video reports, blogs and community sites — all in the same workday. Our reach is broader than ever; the pace, frenetic.

And Radiohead? They're planning a standard CD release on Jan. 1 because most downloaders left no money.

Communism? Not so far. So far, everybody's turned hustler, scrambling to get paid. Sounds like a Jay-Z track — er, download.

Reach Christine Strobel at cstrobel@honoluluadvertiser.com.