After selling over a million copies of last year’s Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay have relented and handed their latest release over to Spotify. As SPIN noted last fall, the band allowed iTunes to stream tracks from their fifth record to promote its October LP, but there was no sign of the album on any streaming sites — until this week. The band released their latest Mylo video for “Charlie Brown” earlier today.
Mylo Xyloto, which sold 447,000 copies its debut week, is also up on Rdio and as of this week, Rhapsody. Coldplay didn’t explain their decision to avoid streaming sites, but a rep from their label issued a statement to CNET in October reading, “We always work with our artists and management on a case by case basis to deliver the best outcome for each release.”
The Black Keys were more clear about their decision to keep their upcoming disc El Camino off streaming services. In an interview with VH1, the band said it’s unfair both to artists receiving meager royalties and fans who shelled out cash for the album. “For a band that makes a living selling music, it’s not at a point yet to be feasible for us,” drummer Patrick Carney said.
They’re not alone. Adele has also shunned streaming, along with U.K. music distributor STHoldings, who yanked more than 200 indie labels from the sites last November. Adele’s blockbuster 21 is not available on Spotify however her smash single — and our best song of 2011 — “Rolling in the Deep” does appear on the service.
