![]() ![]() Far from averting sales, the album went on to secure the number one spot within its debut week on the US Billboard charts the free online promotion stimulated interest and widened the audience base of an artist previously desperately unappreciated on US soil. Having never previously captured the attention of the US audience (no top 20 singles had been achieved), Kid A was downloaded over a million times prior to its physical release. In 2000, Radiohead too had material from forthcoming album – Kid A, leaked onto the site. It was the service that undoubtedly changed the way that music interfaced with audiences around the globe. It was eventually shut down after successful law suits from amongst others, Metallica, Dr Dre and Madonna, following the leak of such artists’ as-yet-unreleased material. ![]() ![]() Many argue it was the first major attempt at debasing the music industry – tracks and albums downloaded around the world with no financial recompense ever making its way to the original and entitled songwriters. It allowed a rapidly expanding, tech-savvy population to amass a ‘record collection’ without the need to ever set foot in a record store or hand over any cash. It was the original online peer-to-peer file sharing service – primarily utilised for the illegal distribution of MP3s direct to your computer. Remember Napster? Possibly not if you happen to be the right side of 30. ![]()
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