Bristol, UKs Portishead have announced they will be streaming their much-ballyhooed new album, Third, for free prior to its release on April 28. Starting next Tuesday (April 21) the entire album will be available to hear on social networking/music-sharing site Last.fm. The intention, it seems, is to curb piracy as much as it is to promote the record.
Speaking to the BBC after the announcement, Christian Ward of Last.fm said: "There is a certain group who are downloading in less than legal ways. If people can get hold of an album early on, it might not stop that kind of behaviour, but it does have more of an impact.
Youll still have to pay to download the songs (legally) when the album is released, but the stream will give you a sneak peak at what guitarist Adrian Utley is saying ". . . sounds nothing like Dummy or Portishead, but its definitely its older brother or sister. Its the same mindset weve always had, only further down the road.
Portishead "Machine Gun"
Speaking to the BBC after the announcement, Christian Ward of Last.fm said: "There is a certain group who are downloading in less than legal ways. If people can get hold of an album early on, it might not stop that kind of behaviour, but it does have more of an impact.
Youll still have to pay to download the songs (legally) when the album is released, but the stream will give you a sneak peak at what guitarist Adrian Utley is saying ". . . sounds nothing like Dummy or Portishead, but its definitely its older brother or sister. Its the same mindset weve always had, only further down the road.
Portishead "Machine Gun"