Radiohead frontman, Thom Yorke, dropped a surprise album titled, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. The album is now available through BitTorrent, where it has already sold more than 34,000 copies. The new solo material comes after his 2006 album, The Eraser.
Yorke dropped the link to the album and expressed his excitement on his Twitter to his 585k followers, while also providing fans a link to buy the vinyl version. The word traveled through the social media site and the album became known without any previous publicity.
Coming as even more of a surprise, the album is available on BitTorrent. In a statement released by Thom Yorke and producer, Nigel Godrich, the decision to put the album up on the site was out of curiosity and experimentation, as Yorke expressed in his tweet that there is uncertainty in whether this move will pay off or not.
The files can be anything, but in this case is an ‘album’. It’s an experiment to see if the mechanics of the system are something that the general public can get its head around …
If it works well it could be an effective way of handing some control of internet commerce back to people who are creating the work.
Yorke has been known for his unconventional ways to distribute music. Back in 2007, Radiohead released their album, In Rainbows, in a “pay-what-you-want” model for listeners to be able to enjoy the music without paying the traditional sticker price. Releasing the album on BitTorrent will provide the most profit for Yorke and ultimately cuts out the middleman. By accessing the files directly, it can change the way music is distributed and benefits the artist.
Just last month, Yorke was seen surprisingly spinning the tables at the Roosevelt Hotel, so leaves to wonder if there are any other surprises up his sleeve.
Radiohead had previously released an app which was recently updated with brand new music from the band.
Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes features 8 new songs and a video featuring Yorke.
Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes
01. A Brain In A Bottle
02. Guess Again!
03. Interference
04. The Mother Lode
05. Truth Ray
06. There Is No Ice (For My Drink)
07. Pink Section
08. Nose Grows Some
The album is available to purchase at BitTorrent for $6, while some songs are available for free.
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