Radiohead singer-songwriter Thom Yorke released a new solo album, “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes,” Friday through the peer-to-peer file sharing site BitTorrent, in the “first ever paygated torrent in history.”
Yorke’s first solo album in eight years is available as a bundle on the site for $6, and is just the first of many partnerships of its kind according to the site. BitTorrent says that after the publisher of the paygate bundle, in this case Yorke, covers transaction fees, the site will take 10 percent after that, passing on the rest of the profits.
“If it works well, it could be an effective way of handing some control of internet commerce back to the people who are creating the work … enabling those people who make either music, video or any other kind of digital content to sell it themselves,” Yorke said.
The eight-track album is available for purchase in vinyl at the W.A.S.T.E. Shop or at BitTorrent.
Yorke’s band Radiohead tested the music market in 2007 when it dropped “pay what you want” album “In Rainbows.” The U.K. band is currently in the studio recording a new album.
