Radiohead prepares for physical release of CD

London-based indie label XL Recordings is living up to its name by playing an extra-large role in one of 2007's biggest music industry stories after snagging the physical release of Radiohead's "In Rainbows."

The left-field rock band effectively threw the recording industry rule book out the window when it released the studio set through its own Web site October 10, allowing downloaders to set their own price.

Speculation over who would issue the album physically spiraled until October 31, when XL announced it would release the CD on New Year's Eve worldwide -- excluding the United States, where it lands the following day through Dave Matthews' ATO Records, and Japan, which sees a December 26 release through Hostess.

XL now faces several unknown factors -- not the least of which is finding out how a new album performs after being available digitally for three months.

Radiohead "have done the radical," XL co-founder/CEO Richard Russell said. "Now we're doing the traditional, with singles and videos. But I don't know how it's going to perform; we will evaluate and re-evaluate as it goes on and see how the record develops."

That "traditional" approach sees lead single "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" landing January 14 in the United Kingdom, while the first European dates of a world tour, beginning next June and including key festival shows, have just been announced.