A Thousand Suns...the future of album sales?

For those of you who have known me for a while, I'm a fairly avid Linkin Park fan.  I'm not as obsessive as I once was late in high school or early college, but I have followed them since I discovered them in 2000 the summer before Hybrid Theory came out on to today.

One thing that they have always tried to do is adapt very quickly to technologies available.  They always have had a mobile studio in which they record samples and demos for new songs.  They came out with an iPhone game app where you play the levels and it unlocks live versions of songs and the final level unlocked an otherwise unreleased track called "Blackbirds."

But for the pre-order of their new album A Thousand Suns, they did some things that they have never done for a release.  I don't think anyone else has done for that matter.

A couple months ago Linkin Park had announced they you could pre-order the album on their website.  They had the usual packages that included merchandise like t-shirts and things and one ridiculous package that included a Linkin Park designed skateboard.  But all of these packages included a free mp3 version of the album that will be released to you the night before the album is available in stores.

While the mp3 version of the album is not a new idea (they actually included the mp3 file versions of the songs on their last album Minutes to Midnight), they also give a sneak-peak of the album by releasing a couple of the tracks to you before they send you the entire album.  When I pre-ordered the album, a few days later they sent me the first single "The Catalyst" in mp3 form when they first released it.  Then a couple weeks ago they sent me the another mp3, this time of the song "Wretches and Kings."

At about 11:00 pm CDT on September 13, they sent me the entire album in mp3 form...a few hours before the CD comes out in stores and the mp3s are available on iTunes.  (If that is a tactic to combat piracy, it didn't work.  I actually got a copy of the album from one of my friends of the now renowned nomnomnompton blog about a week before the album came out.)

The release of A Thousand Suns does give an interesting look at how other artists will try to release new material.  Will other artists try to release their work with little previews before they are officially released?  For   big name artists that are still selling strong like Lady Gaga or Jay-Z maybe not.  (I pre-ordered Jimmy Eat World's new album Invented and the most they did was stream their single "My Best Theory.")  But it does present an interesting attempt at changing things up.

I will wait until I give A Thousand Suns a few more listens before I review it here.  Until then, keep bumpin that music.


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