Coldplay giving away new single

[Chezzie]

British band Coldplay are to give away a free download of the single Violet Hill from their forthcoming album, for one week.

The download is available from their website from 1215 BST on 29 April, and is on general digital release on 6 May.

It is the first single to be released from the new album Viva La Vida or Death and all his Friends.

The band have also announced plans to give away tickets to two free concerts in June, in New York and London.

Concerts will take place at London's Brixton Academy, on 16 June, and at New York's Madison Gardens, on 23 June. Details of how to win tickets will be posted on the Coldplay website.

Free music

The move follows a move away from traditional sales by various bands last year.

In June, Prince gave away copies of his latest album, Planet Earth, with the Mail on Sunday newspaper, and indie band The Charlatans gave away a free download of their new album on the website of radio station XFM.

In October that year, Radiohead let fans decide how much they wanted to pay to download their seventh studio album, In Rainbows, from their official website.

A free Coldplay 7-inch vinyl single will also be given away on the cover of this month's NME magazine.

The vinyl version will include Violet Hill and another track, A Spell A Rebel Yell, which will not be available anywhere else.

Coldplay's fourth studio album, the follow-up to 2005's X&Y, is reported to have a Hispanic influence, following recording sessions in Spain and a tour of Latin America.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7370808.stm