Radiohead shocked the music industry last year when they bypassed record companies altogether and allowed fans to pay as much or as little as they wanted to download the band's seventh album. Now, British band Coldplay is going a somewhat similar route, making the first single from their new album available as a free download for one week at the band’s website starting tomorrow – a week ahead of its general digital release.

In addition, Coldplay announced two free shows: one in London at Brixton Academy on June 16 and the other one in New York at Madison Square Garden on June 23, with details on how to score free tickets being published tomorrow. Regardless of your taste in music, it’s always great news to hear about how musicians are looking for innovative ways to promote new material at a time when illegal downloading and RIAA lawsuits are becoming the norm. Other artists that have jumped onto the free download bandwagon include Nine Inch Nails and R.E.M.