Caught in the Net by Elisa Bray

(getty images)

Prince, and his label NPG Records, may have made a fuss about fans' YouTube clips of his version of Radiohead's "Creep" performed at Coachella, claiming copyright infringement and asking for them to be removed, but Radiohead has no such qualms about website exposure. As Thom Yorke says: "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our song". Since then, the band's new song, "Super Collider", performed at their 6 June show in Dublin, can be seen on YouTube, albeit with a very shaky picture.

And at the band's own website, you can watch Yorke and Jonny Greenwood play an acoustic cover of Portishead's new single "The Rip": http://www. radiohead.com/deadairspace/index.php?c=378.

Other videos come from one of the city's other stars (the university's maths department, to be precise), electro-indie popstars Hot Chip, who are posting a weekly series of "behind the scenes" podcasts on their MySpace page. The first of their videos filmed while on tour is up now, and for the next five Tuesdays, a new one will be posted: www.myspace.com/hotchip.

In a bid to pre-empt internet leaks of their anticipated albums, some of the biggest bands are previewing their new albums in their entirety via their own websites, MySpace and other social sites. Most recently, Coldplay streamed Viva la Vida on their Myspace page; REM streamed Accelerate via the iLike application on Facebook; and in April, Portishead previewed Third on the social/music network site Last.fm. Now, Sigur Ros (above) are previewing their fifth studio album. As well as offering it for free until its release on 23 June on their website www.sigurros.com – as previously mentioned – the Icelandic band is also streaming Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust ("With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly") on Last.fm at www.last.fm/music/ Sigur+Ros.

Portishead were the first band whose album was streamed exclusively by the site, picking up more than 300,000 plays on Last.fm before its official release. Perhaps, in credit-crunch times, more people than ever will try before they buy.