The Residents have long been respected for more than their avant garde music. They have done groundbreaking work in the music video field and the joining of music and computer games into one interactive experience. And that barely scratches the surface. Now they've launched an honor system download service. Now, it appears to be set up so that you can download the music and run-- they won't send the coppers after you. However, I suspect that if people do that the site will disappear. The "suggested download donation" is $1 each. You download then use the supplied button to Paypal the $$$.

This is an interesting move for the collective to take, considering their rather uncompromising stance on music sharing. It'll be interesting to see how well it works out and whether it spawns various clones from other bands/labels/projects.

Even if you're not a Residents fan, check out the link below and see what may be the future of music.

http://residents.com/bh/Downloadstart.htm