Today I downloaded the latest Radiohead album, In Rainbows. Unlike all the other albums I've obtained since I stopped purchasing compact discs, I purchased this album directly from the artists on their website and downloaded the album directly in just a few minutes rather than from peer-to-peer networks.
I chose to pay £5.00, which gives Radiohead much more income on that album than if it was sold via a record label in stores, and it gives me direct non-DRM access to the mp3s I want. What I don't want is a physical CD. I probably wouldn't pay £5.00 for most albums, but since Radiohead is pioneering a different model I thought I would give them some financial encouragement.
The last mainstream album I purchased was Blue Man Group which I bought after seeing them perform on a high school band trip. I purchased the disc used on half.com, so maybe that doesn't even count as a real record sale. More recently I bought all of the albums in compact disc form from the New Orleans Bingo! Show off of the Louisiana Music Factory Website. (If Clint or any of the Bingo Show members read this, I love your music and would really love to be able to download it from y'all directly using the Radiohead model, and if anyone from the Lousiana Music Factory reads this, I like lots of your musical offerings but your website really needs some user interface work and search engine optimization).
Update: In writing this post, I realized that the first New Orleans Bingo! Show CD, Bingo!, is now available to order so I ordered it for $12.99 plus $5 shipping. I'm curious what percentage the band receives from that sale.