Coldplay will be performing on 'Later... With Jools Holland' tonight at 11.35pm (GMT). Don't miss it!

Coldplay has made the biggest debut so far this year, with its new album 'X&Y' topping the charts in at least 28 countries, and the number is likely to grow as more countries publish their sales figures. The album is so far number 1 in the following countries:

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Canada

Chile

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Holland

Hong Kong

Iceland

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Lebanon

Malaysia

Mexico

New Zealand

Norway

Sweden

Taiwan

Thailand

UAE

UK

USA

More to follow...!

The path of p2p in the future has been uncovered just a little more with the news that 8% of EMI’s Coldplay's 'X&Y' sales were downloaded.

And that was mainly down to iTunes which had been accepting orders for the album for a month, says the LA Times. “The pre-orders - a first by Apple included two bonus tracks not on the physical CD,” it says.

But before you get too excited, of the 740,000 sold in the first week, only 64,000 went through iTunes which is, to all intents and purposes, the only viable online corporate music site. And even it is barely breaking even as a loss-leader for iPod.At EMI Music, “a total digital sales were more than $64 million in the fiscal year that ended March 31 - only 2.2% of its overall revenue, but more than four times the amount sold the previous year,” spokeswoman Jeanne Meyer is quoted as saying.

“Warner Music Group racked up more digital revenue in the first three months of this year - $35 million, or 4.6% of its total - than it collected in all of 2004, the company reported. Lawrence Kenswil, head of Universal Music Group's e-commerce unit, said almost 90 songs had sold more than 100,000 copies through online stores this year.”

Now all the corporate music industry has to do is stop ripping off its customers, such as Apple, by wholesaling ‘product’ at between 60 and 75 cents a pop. The corporate stores could then charge reasonable amounts for what are, after all, merely condensed low-fi versions of digital files which have already been created for CDs and DVDs.

They'd then be literally rolling in money.

Instead, Apple and RealNetworks, et al, are forced to levy around dollar per download, a price 99.99% of music fans flatly refuse to even look at, preferring to use the free p2p networks or pay sites such as those in Russia which charge only pennies for each track.

The Big Four record labels are spending millions on propaganda that says p2p file sharing is theft.

But nothing has been stolen and file sharing doesn't affect sales. It is, rather, the first really effective, and certainly the most powerful, ongoing form of citizen protest where hundreds of millions of ordinary people around the world have decided they're no longer cash-cow 'consumers' who'll swallow whatever is dished out by the industry.

Source: mp3newswire

Coldplay's third studio album becomes the band's first career chart-topper and leads a pack of highly anticipated summer sets arriving on this week's Billboard 200. With U.S. sales of 737,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the U.K. act's "X&Y" (Capitol) greatly distanced itself from new releases from the Black Eyed Peas, the White Stripes and Shakira, all of whom nonetheless saw career-best sales.

The U.S. start for "X&Y" comes on the heels of Coldplay notching the second-highest first week sales in British chart history after its June 6 Parlophone release.

"X&Y" posted the second-biggest U.S. debut of 2005, behind 50 Cent's "The Massacre" (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), which bowed with 1.14 million in March. It's also the biggest week for a rock band since U2's "How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (Interscope) began with 840,000 units in November 2004.

The title, which will be supported by a North American tour opening Aug. 2 in Toronto, is Coldplay's follow-up to 2002's "A Rush of Blood to the Head," which debuted at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 with sales of 141,000 units and has sold 3.8 million to date.The Black Eyed Peas open at No. 2 with "Monkey Business" (A&M/Interscope), which sold 291,000 copies -- career bests in one-week sales and chart position. In 2003, the group's "Elephunk" opened at No. 33 with sales of 31,000. It later posted its best week with 59,000 copies and peaked at No. 14; the set has sold 2.7 million to date.

The 189,000 copy/No. 3 start for the White Stripes' "Get Behind Me Satan" (V2) surpasses the peaks of 2003's "Elephant, which topped out at No. 6 and opened with 126,000. That breakthrough set has sold 1.7. million to date. The first "Satan" single, "Blue Orchid," jumps 9-7 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks tally this week.

Despite a recent ban by retail chain Ritmo Latino, Shakira's "Fijacion Oral, Volumen 1" (Epic) saw the largest Stateside sales week for a Spanish-language album since Nielsen SouncScan began tracking in 1991. The 157,000-copy bow, which places the set at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, greatly surpasses Ricky Martin's "Almas de Silencio" (Sony International), which was the previous record-holder with 65,000 in 2003.

This isn't the highest Billboard 200 chart position for the Colombian songstress, however. In 2001, her English-language disc "Laundry Service" opened at No. 3 on the chart with sales of 202,000 copies. The album has sold 3.3 million to date.

With the first four slots taken by new titles, Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island/Def Jam) falls 1-5 a week after reclaiming The Billboard 200 throne. The album, which has spent two non-consecutive weeks on top, has the dubious honor of leading the landslide of remaining top 10 albums with its 12% sales tumble to 151,000.

System Of A Down's "Mezmerize" (American/Columbia) falls 2-6 on a 27% slip to 86,000; Toby Keith's "Honkytonk University" (DreamWorks Nashville) drops 4-7 with a 16% dip to 72,000; Gwen Stefani's "Love, Angel, Music, Baby" (Interscope) drops 5-8 with a 15% decrease to 71,000; Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" (RCA) holds at No. 9 despite a 4% dip to 66,000; and Audioslave's "Out of Exile" (Interscope/Epic) slides 3-10 on a 34% slide to 65,000.

Outside of the top tier, Side One Dummy's "Vans Warped Tour 2005" compilation bows at No. 13 with 53,000 units. The two-disc set, which features such acts as Atreyu, Flogging Molly, Fall Out Boy and Dropkick Murphys, comes up short of last year's effort, which started at No. 8 with 61,000 and has sold 345,000 to date.

Other top 50 debuts this week are Finch's "Say Hello to Sunshine" (Drive-Thru, No. 24); Jodeci's "Back to the Future: The Very Best of Jodeci" (Universal, No. 27); Avenged Sevenfold's "City of Evil" (Warner Bros., No. 30); Dream Theater's "Octavarium" (Atlantic, No. 36); and a Pat Benatar greatest hits set (Capitol, No. 47).

Overall U.S. album sales were up 6.8% over the previous week at 11 million units, just slightly (0.2%) lower than the same week last year. At 250 million units, sales for 2005 lag behind those of last year by 8%.

Coldplay's third album X&Y has rocketed to the top of the album chart and is on course to become one of the biggest sellers of all time.

It is believed 464,000 copies were sold by Saturday, making it the second fastest-selling album since records began in the early 1990s. Only the 1997 Oasis album, Be Here Now, has ever performed better in its first week, with 695,761 copies sold. X&Y knocked Oasis' newest album, Don't Believe The Truth, from the top spot.

HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: "This has been an important event for the industry, we've been waiting for this release for a long time."

Coldplay's earlier albums, Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head, also re-entered the chart on Sunday, at numbers 19 and 23.The White Stripes' album Get Behind Me Satan came in at number three in the albums chart.

Meanwhile, in the singles chart, the Crazy Frog ringtone reworking of Harold Faltermeyer's classic Axel F held on to the number one spot for a third week.

At number two was U2's City of Blinding Lights, while Lonely, by Akon, dropped down one place to number three.

To coincide with celebrating Coldplay's return to the top of the album charts, we have added a little something to the messageboard. Have a look here

Thanks go to Plastikaa for all the work. Go and take a look at the rest of their portfolio!

An interesting fact about the new song 'White Shadows' can be discovered here

[thanks kimberlina]

Chris Martin got heated about equitable trade ahead of a Paris gig on Thursday, telling journalists that it was an issue about which "everybody should be concerned. We live on the same planet as everybody else.... It will affect all of us, whether you are Coldplay or Jacques Chirac," he said.

Chris, who has taken his 'Make Trade Fair' campaign on the road with him wherever Coldplay play, said a January trip to Ghana reinforced his frustration with the protectionism of rich countries.

"I talked with a farmer who couldn't sell what he was growing because the market is saturated. He was my age, but our experiences are totally different just because of our geographical origin. I could have been him and he could have been me," he said.Coldplay was to give a concert hours later that was to present its latest album, 'X&Y' — the back cover of which brings up the 'Make Trade Fair' message while the accompanying booklet contains references to organisations such as Greenpeace and Oxfam.

Source: iAfrica

Coldplaying.com (or rather me, the webmaster) took part in the fantastic X&Y special, over at the Dutch fansite, coldplayfans.nl. I answered questions on X&Y, Coldplay and names of fruity babies.

To see the special, and to read what I had to say, click here

There is an entire Coldplay show up on AOLmusic.com now. The band performed for AOL at an exclusive show a few weeks ago.

You can get to it directly here

[thanks Lisa]

Coldplay continue to be honest about plagiarising other artists' work - new single Speed Of Sound is heavily inspired by Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill'

They have already admitted to using Kraftwerk samples and Elbow's 'Grace Under Pressure' track on their new album X&Y, and now they've admitted to borrowing heavily from Bush's 1985 hit for their current single.

Guy Berryman explains, "We were listening to a Kate Bush song called Running Up That Hill and we were really trying to recreate the drums on that song for this song, and the chords. Some bands are reluctant to admit that they take things from other artists and bands that they listen to and we're shameless in that respect, we don't mind telling."

Source: ContactMusic

Coldplay's New York performance on May 16th for the VH1 Storytellers show, premieres tonight, 8th June.

See local TV listing for variable times - in the meantime visit VH1 site here

The support acts for the forthcoming Coldplay U.S tour dates are:

2-26 August: Black Mountain

30 August - 30 September: Rilo Kiley

Chris Martin has admitted the song 'Fix You' on the group's new album is a copy of Elbow's track Grace Under Pressure

The group has already confessed their new disc X&Y is heavily influenced by electronic stars Kraftwerk, with Jonny Buckland saying, "We've never so directly stolen off anyone before. We've never paid for our plagiarism."

Martin has warned fans Fix You will sound very similar to those who have listened to British band Elbow's 2003 album Cast Of Thousands.

He says, "Fix You came directly from Elbow's Grace Under Pressure. I think their Cast Of Thousands album is one of the very few albums over the past five years that I have played in its entirety many times."

Source: ContactMusic

Chris Martin insists all those new fans of the group who once bullied their old fans should find it in their hearts to apologise.

He is well aware that long-time fans of the rockers were picked on by other music fans because Coldplay weren't seen as being a real rock group, and now it's time their meek fans faced their former critics.

He says, "Our ambition is to have all those 15-year-old people, who got beaten up for liking us two years ago, is for them to have all the people that beat them up come over to them this year and say, 'We've just heard Coldplay's third album and you were right. We're sorry about that.'"

Source: ContactMusic

Coldplay felt compelled to scrap everything they had recorded for new album X&Y and start again after watching fellow Brits Oasis confess they had done the same thing.

Frontman Chris Martin fears he would have continued and put out a far inferior product to the one that's currently getting rave reviews had it not been for Oasis' documentary about the making of their classic debut Definitely Maybe.

He reveals: "I was at home watching this DVD that came out last year... and watching how they (Oasis) started off very technological and trying to do everything perfect, with great studios and (it) ended up just being the five of them in a room, bashing out the songs.

"I suddenly realised that's really what we haven't been doing, so we went back to a tiny rehearsal space and we started the album all over again. So a large part of that is thanks to the Definitely Maybe DVD."

A full length interview that Dutch TV program '2 vandaag' (2 today) recorded on the day of the secret gig in Amsterdam (april 6th) can be found here

[thanks Martijn]

Music fans were today on course to help give Coldplay their third number one album.

Early sales figures for X&Y - which was released yesterday - indicate that the album is outselling nearest rival the White Stripes by three to one and looks set to top the charts this weekend.

According to Dave Murray, manager of HMV, Forestside, music fans across the UK were out in force from early yesterday to snap up the hugely-anticipated album.

"From early yesterday morning Coldplay's new album has been literally leaping off the shelves as fans are finally getting their hands on X&Y. "Early sales figures indicate that fans will not be disappointed with the band's latest offering as it looks set to earn Coldplay its third number one album."

Many music retailers throughout the UK opened early yesterday, with queues forming outside some larger stores in London.As copies of X & Y flew off the shelves, music experts predicted that the album could sell over 400,000 copies throughout this week and could go on to break through the half a million sales mark this Saturday - a feat only achieved in modern recording history by Oasis' Be Here Now. It sold just under 696,000 copies in its first week in August 1997 and remains the fastest selling album.

Gennaro Castaldo of HMV said: "The excitement around X & Y is palpable and has been building for quite some time now.

"The band certainly hasn't disappointed - both critically and commercially. It's an absolutely brilliant recording that will take Coldplay onto the next level of global superstardom and it's fair to say that we're already looking at the biggest album of the year by far."

Coldplay's Rush of Blood to the Head, released in August 2002, sold 274,000 copies compared to 71,000 for Parachutes in July 2000.

Coldplay performed in a sell-out gig last night to celebrate the launch of their third album which is set to become one of the biggest sellers of all time.

Hundreds of fans queued – some from 3pm the day before the gig – to get tickets for the one-off concert at the 1,200 capacity Koko in Camden, north London, as many more raced to the shops to get their hands on the X&Y album which went on sale yesterday.

Industry experts are predicting that more than 400,000 copies of the album will fly off the shelves this week, sending it straight to number one.

Last night's gig, which was broadcast live on Radio One, was the only chance for fans to see the group in an intimate venue before Coldplay perform at a number of huge outdoor shows this summer – including their headline appearance at Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage on June 25.Frontman Chris Martin gave a typically energetic performance as he launched into Square One from the new album, followed by old favourites Politik and Clocks. His wife Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow was said to be one of the guests in the VIP lounge.

X&Y, which was leaked onto the internet last week despite unprecedented security measures, could become the second fastest selling album since record began in the early 1990s. UK retailers predict 500,000 copies could be shifted by Saturday. Only the 1997 album from Oasis, Be Here Now, has ever broken the 500,000 mark in the first week of release selling 695,761 copies.

HMV said many of its stores opened early to find fans queuing outside, with many hoping to pick up a copy on the way to work. HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: “We haven’t seen anything like this since Oasis released Be Here Now in August 1997.

“The excitement around X&Y is palpable and has been building for quite some time now. The band certainly haven’t disappointed both critically and commercially. Its an absolutely brilliant recording that will take Coldplay onto the next level of global superstardom, and it’s fair to say that we’re already looking at the biggest album of the year by far.”

Coldplay were beaten to the number one spot in the singles charts by the Crazy Frog ringtone.

Coldplay Heats up New York City's Legendary Beacon Theatre with an Exclusive Performance for AOL Music Live!

Coldplay made their return to the stage at New York City's renowned Beacon Theatre for an exclusive AOL® Music LIVE! performance. The concert, which took place on May 17, will be broadcast online at aolmusic.com on Tuesday, June 7, the same day their highly anticipated album, X&Y, hits US stores. The concert will be available on-demand for 10 days following the event. In addition fans can also tune in to hear a simultaneous audio broadcast on the AOL® Radio Network.

"Coldplay is one of the best live rock bands in the world, and we are thrilled that they will be playing AOL Music Live with us, in such an exclusive and intimate setting," said Jack Isquith, Executive Director of Music Industry Relations for AOL Music. "Especially as music fans, we are relishing this great opportunity to have everyone on the web experience the power and beauty of Coldplay in concert."

This exclusive performance by Coldplay follows the success of recent AOL Music LIVE! concerts by Kanye West, Simple Plan and Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. AOL Music LIVE! has also featured performances by Alicia Keys, Rod Stewart, Usher, Nelly, Avril Lavigne, Good Charlotte, Josh Groban and Foo Fighters among others. Months after the live events, individual original performances from these concerts consistently appear on AOL Music's weekly Top 11 charts, often outpacing the traditional music videos for the same songs.Coldplay's new album, X&Y, is the follow up to the band's Grammy-winning, triple platinum 2002 release A Rush of Blood to the Head. The first single from the album, "Speed of Sound" has already become a huge hit on U.S. radio. After the album's release on June 7, Coldplay will embark on their biggest world tour yet, beginning with dates in Europe, the UK and Ireland. Plans are in the works for a 40-city North American tour, which will commence in late July and continue through the end of September.

As part of this special AOL Music LIVE! event, fans are encouraged to donate to Keep a Child Alive (http://www.keepachildalive.org), an organization dedicated to providing life-saving medicine to children and families with AIDS in Africa.

AOL Music is a leading online destination for music, reaching more than 22.5 million music fans a month(1) through a rich array of programming, products and services that make it easy to discover, experience, listen to and buy music online. AOL Music's offerings, include original programs such as AOL Music Sessions, AOL Music LIVE! and AOL Music Breakers, and special features such as First Listen and First View. They are available through aolmusic.com, the AOL Music Channel, the AOL® Radio Network, Netscape® Music, CompuServe® Music, AIM® Music, ICQ® Music, Winamp® and SHOUTcast® services. Integrated commerce options make it easy for consumers to purchase the music they hear on AOL Music through MusicNet@AOL, iTunes on AOL, AOL's CD/DVD shop and AOL's Entertainment for Mobile store.

Source: Businesswire

Don't forget tonight folks - Coldplay live at KOKO in London will be aired live on Radio 1 from 7pm (GMT).

There will then be reaction to the concert on Lamacq Live at 10.30pm. You can catch full details on the special Radio 1 Coldplay site here and your listen live link is here

Coldplay's X&Y and is set to become one of the fastest-selling albums of all time after hitting the shops today.

Industry experts are predicting that more than 400,000 copies of the band's third album will fly off the shelves this week, sending it straight to number one.

X&Y, which was leaked on to the internet last week despite unprecedented security measures, could become the second-fastest selling album since records began in the early 1990s.

UK retailers are predicted to shift 100,000 copies today and some believe the figure could hit 500,000 by Saturday. Only the 1997 album from Oasis, Be Here Now, has ever broken the half a million mark in the first week of release, selling 695,761 copies. Dido’s Life for Rent is second in the fastest-selling list, with 400,351 copies in its first week in September, 2003.

HMV said many of its stores opened early to find fans queuing outside, with many hoping to pick up a copy on their way to work.HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: “We haven’t seen anything like this since Oasis released Be Here Now in August, 1997.

“The excitement around X&Y is palpable and has been building for quite some time now. The band certainly haven’t disappointed – both critically and commercially. It’s an absolutely brilliant recording that will take Coldplay on to the next level of global superstardom, and it’s fair to say that we’re already looking at the biggest album of the year by far.”

Coldplay were beaten to the Number One spot in the singles chart by the Crazy Frog ringtone. Their first single from the new album, Speed of Sound, has now dropped to seventh position in the singles chart.

Source: Scotsman

Coldplay's chart-topping hits don't impress Chris Martin's baby daughter - she prefers to listen to obscure Icelandic rock music.

Chris has already refused to play one-year-old Apple Coldplay's highly anticipated third album X&Y, because she prefers the more diverse range of music present in her dad Chris and mum Gwyneth Paltrow's record collection.

He says, "She prefers an Icelandic band called Sigur Ros to Coldplay. She hasn't heard X&Y - we don't play it in the house. We played Sigur Ros at her birth - it's good music to come into the world to. She's a huge fan of The Beatles, too, which is cool."

Source: ContactMusic

Coldplay's new album "X&Y" has been released, and it is already being spoken of as one of the biggest albums of the year.

And it is not just the band's fans who are hoping it is a success -- strong sales of this new album will be music to EMI's ears. It took Coldplay 18 months to make its third album, and its release came after a three-month delay.

But was the album worth waiting for? Ben Jones, of Virgin Radio, said: "It's definitely worth the wait. It's case of record companies going: 'Ah, where is it?' But to us the fans, and to radio stations, there is no delay. It's fantastic."

Was it worth it for EMI? Well that depends how you look at it. Given Coldplay's track record -- 20 million records sold worldwide -- EMI has got good reason to hold out for their next set of hits. But the delay managed to do some damage: It led to a 13 percent fall in EMI's annual profits, a profit warning in February, and a sharp drop in its share price.This was a setback for investors, but not for Coldplay. Chris Martin recently told Reuters: "I don't really care about EMI. I'm not concerned about that. I think shareholders are the greatest evil of this modern world."

Teresa Wise, of Accenture, said: "The profit warning clearly did take people by surprise. The market seems to have settled, and provided Coldplay now delivers, and EMI capitalizes on the digital music revolution, it should not have a long term effect on EMI's success."

Increasingly, the fortunes of music labels are tied to the success or failure of one or two huge names on the roster. For Warner music, it's Madonna. For Universal Music, it's U2. For EMI, it's Coldplay and Robbie Williams. Robbie Williams once said: "I'm rich, beyond my wildest dreams!"

He was responsible for the best-selling album during EMI's last financial year -- selling 6 million records. EMI is no doubt hoping "X&Y" beats that. Ben Jones said: "I think they're sitting and going 'phew,' because you never know what a band is up to when they go to their studios to write their music.

"And Coldplay have already proven themselves. They have put out two albums that were multi-million sellers, and they are looking for 10 million with this CD, and I think they're going to get it."

But their competition is stiff. Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" lost the top singles spot to the Crazy Frog its first two weeks in the UK charts.

Source: CNN

Coldplay, The White Stripes and The Tears are all gearing up for the biggest chart battle in years as all three release hotly-anticipated albums today.

Coldplay celebrate the release of third set 'X&Y' with an intimate gig at London's Koko club tonight (live on Radio 1), and fans were queuing at the crack of dawn outside the club to buy tickets which only went on sale today.

The White Stripes' fifth album 'Get Behind Me Satan' is also released today, though the band are still on tour in South America following Jack Whites surprise marriage to model Karen Elson last week. Meanwhile, The Tears, the band formed by former Suede partnership Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler, release 'Here Come The Tears' today, and play a free show at the HMV store on London’s Oxford Street tonight.Of the three albums, ‘X&Y’ is expected to clinch the Number One spot, with some industry insiders suggesting its first-week sales could rival that of the fastest-selling album ever, Oasis’ ‘Be Here Now’, which sold nearly 700,000 copies on its week of release in August 1997.

Gennaro Castaldo, chart expert at HMV, told NME.COM: “Industry predictions one week one sales of ‘X&Y’ vary dramatically from 150,000 up to a million – an unprecedented figure. A more educated guess, taking into account the first week performance of ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ (in 2002), would be in the region of 350,000-400,000 copies – fantastic going for a band that is wary of excessive promotion.”

Source: NME