Radiohead Box Set Just In Time For Christmas...On A USB Drive?

Courtesy of Wired

Hoping to capitalize on the hubbub surrounding Radiohead's digital/box set release of In Rainbows, the band's old label, EMI, announced today that it is accepting pre-orders for a collection of all 6 albums Radiohead recorded for its Parlophone imprint: Pablo Honey, The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail To The Thief, plus the live album I Might Be Wrong. The collection will be available on December 10 to those who pre-order.

Unlike the digital version of In Rainbows, this box set has several high fixed prices depending on which format you choose: downloadable MP3 (320 Kbps, $70), a CD box set ( 7 discs, $80), or a 4GB USB drive (WAV files and artwork, $160). It's odd that the CD box set costs half as much as the USB version, despite containing the exact same musical data.

Radiohead fans might pony up $80 to give someone else the CD box set as a holiday gift, but any serious fan of the band already owns these albums. Who's going to buy a $160 USB keychain with a bunch of files they already own on it, no matter what it looks like?