March of the Pigs

Following the release of his new album, Year Zero, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor sounds off on his blog about anti-consumer pricing, calling out Universal Music Group in the process:

As
the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their
answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the
consumer over even more. A couple of examples that quickly come to mind:

* The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia.  Shame on you, UMG.  Year Zero
is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people
steal music. Avril Lavigne’s record in the same store was $21.99
($18.21 US).

By the way, when I asked a label rep about this his
response was: "It’s because we know you have a real core audience that
will pay whatever it costs when you put something out – you know, true
fans. It’s the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy."

So… I guess as a reward for being a "true fan" you get ripped off.

This does beg the question: How do bands with avid fan bases around the world (Radiohead, NIN, etc) circumvent the entire label process completely? How soon will this be a viable option for any band?