Coldplay’s decision to give-away its new track “Violet Hill” has apparently has done little to cannibalise purchases of the single.
The track opened at No. 8 on the new Official U.K. Singles Chart, published today, selling more than 15,000 units, roughly half the total of the country’s best-selling single this week, Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake’s “4 Minutes” (Warner Bros.), according to charts compiler the Official U.K. Charts Company.
By comparison, first-week digital sales for “Speed of Sound,” the lead track from Coldplay’s last album, “X&Y,” topped 9,000 copies in the United Kingdom in 2005, according to OCC data.
Unlike with “Speed of Sound,” Coldplay have no plans to sell physical copies of “Violet Hill.”
“Violet Hill” is the first single lifted from the band’s new album, “Vida La Vida or Death and All His Friends,” due June 12 internationally and June 17 in the United States.
The album was given a massive promotional boost when the alternative British rock act decided to give away the track from its Web site, for the week trial beginning April 29. As previously reported, EMI claimed the MP3 was downloaded more than 2 million times while on its free trial.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news