Substitute “bitrate” for “VBR.” VBR stands for “variable bitrate” while In Rainbows was encoded at a constant bitrate (CBR) of 160kbps.

But when it comes to the more recent trend, which features a digital release, vinyl, deluxe, CD, and other permutations, I give all credit to Trent Reznor, even though Radiohead technically beat him to the punch.

I suspect part of the reason the “Radiohead Model” definition got hard-coded incorrectly was that RH didn’t talk about the regular release at all until (if I recall) the week of the download release or just thereafter. So journalists all took note of Stage I of the release, the pay-what-you-will/all-electronic bit, and they had tuned out when the normal CD was announced and released. Any reporter whose beat is business or technology and not arts is going to lose interest in this story after the unusual digital release, when they’re on to the next story and already have “Radiohead Model” etched in their heads.