First Radiohead, then Nine Inch Nails, and now R.E.M. are getting in on the new trend of releasing records outside of conventional methods and moving towards the digital age by utilising the internet. R.E.M.'s new album, Accelerate, is set to debut on the social networking application iLike, where any registered member can stream a copy of it on March 24 - a full week before it's April 1 release date. And then youre expected to buy it, of course.
"It was one of those ideas that was presented to us and it seemed like a good one so we ran for it," R.E.M. front-man Michael Stipe told Billboard.com. He also noted that the way people embrace music "has certainly changed in the last five or ten years. I think you can either go with it or sit back and watch it happen, and I would rather be out on the field than in the bleachers."
The 11-song album, which will be free to anyone using iLike.com, Facebook, iTunes or any of the other social networks that have iLike applications in their platforms, will also feature an exclusive video of the band talking about Accelerate.
This isn't the first wave of internet savvy marketing by the band, as they recently launched a website with raw footage of the album sessions and invited visitors to edit their own video for the album's first single "Supernatural Superserious."
R.E.M. "Supernatural Superserious"
"It was one of those ideas that was presented to us and it seemed like a good one so we ran for it," R.E.M. front-man Michael Stipe told Billboard.com. He also noted that the way people embrace music "has certainly changed in the last five or ten years. I think you can either go with it or sit back and watch it happen, and I would rather be out on the field than in the bleachers."
The 11-song album, which will be free to anyone using iLike.com, Facebook, iTunes or any of the other social networks that have iLike applications in their platforms, will also feature an exclusive video of the band talking about Accelerate.
This isn't the first wave of internet savvy marketing by the band, as they recently launched a website with raw footage of the album sessions and invited visitors to edit their own video for the album's first single "Supernatural Superserious."
R.E.M. "Supernatural Superserious"
