Coldplay announced today that their upcoming single Violet Hill will be given away as a free download on their website beginning tomorrow. The single will be available for a week when it will then be commercially available for digital download on sites like iTunes.
As part of the marketing for their new album, the British band also plans to give away tickets to two upcoming free shows this summer in New York and London (Madison Square Gardens on June 23 and the Brixton Academy on June 16). Fans in the UK will also be able to get a free 7″ vinyl version of the single which will be attached to the cover of the next issue of NME which drops on May 7. They vinyl version will be coupled with a track titled A Spell A Rebel Yell which will not be available in other formats.
Details of the quality of the free digital download have not been released. In 2007, Radiohead released their album In Rainbows by letting fans decide how much to pay (if anything at all) for the album. However, the quality of the version of the albums released on the band’s website was criticized by many at the time for its sub-quality compared to its release on commercial website.
Coldplay has yet to announce the title of their new album, which follows their 2005 release X&Y.
For the free download, and for a chance for tickets to the NYC show:
www.Coldplay.com
The title of their new album has been announced. Unless it’s a joke the title I keep seeing around the internets is Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends.
April 29, 2008 at 7:56 am