(telegraph) Some of the music industry’s biggest names are considering offering their music free online following the success of the experiment by the band Radiohead to let fans download their new album without charge. The band’s website topped the chart of music websites with an 11-fold increase in internet hits after the announcement, according to internet monitoring agency HitWise. Now Jamiroquai and Oasis, two major names that are not contracted to a record labels, are rumoured to be considering following Radiohead by offering work for free, according to industry sources. Radiohead refuse to reveal how many fans have pre-ordered their seventh album, In Rainbows, but figures from HitWise show the move pushed the site up from number 43 to the top slot for music websites in the UK. While CD sales are falling dramatically, download sales have grown from zero in 2003, to 26.5 million in 2005 which then doubled last year to 53.0 million. However, according to the British Phonographic Industry, for every track that is paid for, twenty are downloaded illegally for free.

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