R.E.M. Releases New Album on Facebook App

by Jarrett Martineau | March 25, 2008 at 07:29 am

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So if I like the album does that mean I have to post my comments to Michael Stipe's SuperWall?

REM have become the first well-known rock band to release a new album on a social networking site.

Fans can now listen to all 11 tracks from the album Accelerate, a week before the CD is available in the shops on 31 March.

People must download a plug-in application called iLike which streams music over the internet for free.

The album is also available directly from the iLike website but users will still have to pay to download tracks.

REM lead singer Michael Stipe told Billboard.com: "It was one of those ideas that was presented to us and it seemed like a good one so we ran for it."

He said the way that listeners find music had certainly changed in the last five or 10 years: "I think you can either go with it or sit back and watch it happen."