Just when record labels thought things couldn’t get any worse, the veteran British band Marillion have surpassed the efforts of Radiohead and Coldplay by announcing plans to put their new album on file-sharing sites.

The enemy of squeezed record labels, file-sharing sites allow people to upload music so others can copy it for free.

Amidst calls by the music industry for a crackdown on illegal music sharing, Marillion is set to muddy the waters by uploading their 15th album, Happiness is the Road, to sites such as The Pirate Bay, Mininova and LimeWire.

The band’s move will be legal as they own the copyright, but is likely to promote file sharing and lend a legitimacy to sites that regularly play host to illegal file sharing.

Marillion, who hit their chart peak during the mid-1980s, were one of the first bands to release music via their website in the 1990s. Today, keyboard player Mark Kelly defended their latest move: "While we don't condone illegal file-sharing, it's a fact of life that a lot of music fans do it.

"We want to know who our file-sharing fans are. If they like our new album enough, then we want to persuade them to at least come and see us on tour."

When fans download the album, they will see a video message from the band and will be prompted to consider visiting their website, buying merchandise, music or concert tickets.

A string of high-profile acts have entered the fray over free music in the past few years. Radiohead asked fans to pay what they saw fit when they released their latest, critically-acclaimed album, In Rainbows, on their website. Coldplay gave away the first single from their latest album for free.

As artists, including heavyweights Madonna and Jay-Z, shift their focus to making money from live performances, record labels' sales have plummeted.

Today, Matt Phillips, director of communications for the British Phonographic Industry, which represents the British recorded music sector, said: "While any non-contracted artist is at liberty to give their own music away if that's what they want, we hope that that music fans understand that it's not their right to take music for nothing without permission, and appreciate that not every artist is in the same position."

But Mark Meharry, founder of Music Glue, which is working with Marillion to put their album on peer-to-peer sites, said: "Fans that acquire music via peer-to-peer networks have been treated as thieves by the global recording industry.

"From a commercial point of view, peer-to-peer provides access to more fans, on a global scale, than ever thought possible via traditional distribution methods."

When fans download Marillion's album, they will see a video message from the band and will be prompted to consider visiting their website, buying merchandise or concert tickets.

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