Considering how Mike has been saying for months that when the album is out, he wants people to listen to it as a whole, rather than bits of it, because of the way the songs flow together as one, and all the security that they had with them for prelistening and previews, I find it rather odd that they released the catalyst at their first single (fair enough) and to be honest, didnt get a great reaction from it. Not because its a bad song, just because it isnt what people expected/wanted. Next they get some very very mixed reviews about it, ranging from 'new and pushing the boundries' to 'awful and weird, they should just stick to nu-metal'. Then people who pre-ordered the album get to hear Wretches and Kings, then suddenly, EVERYBODY gets to hear Wretches and Kings. Next blackout is released, then about 2 other songs appear, and the whole album turns up on Spotify a few days before the release for people with premium accounts to listen to, and the album just happens to get leaked, even after all the masses of security... Are LP just being very generous giving all their new songs away practically for free a few days before the official release, or is this marketing tactic (perhaps by Warner) because they've had so many bad reviews about the songs theyre worried nobody is going to actually go out and buy ATS unless they've heard most of it already? Because people who arent hardcore fans and read previews saying "weird and should stick to their old stuff" aren't gonna go spend money on an album like that. UNLESS they get to hear most of it first and make up their own mind about it before spending their hard earned cash on the CD. Just a thought.
They wanted people to have a while to get used to it. And they were right to do so, I probably wouldn't have bought it the day it came out unless I heard most of it and let it sink in a bit, especially considering that those little preview snippets were awful.
I'll try before I buy something. This means I must listen to a whole album Illegally or legally (whatever) then judge it, after that I'll decide to buy it or not. The reviews, I read reviews just for fun, most of my favorite bands or albums get bad review. Therefore, I think LP did what they need to do. Not because the sale but let people decide to buy their album or not. Not to make them regret buying it.
That's generally how music should be marketed, in my opinion. People should get the chance to make up their minds about whether an album is worth their money. That's the idea behind how Reznor does releases these days. Like, people are always gonna get stuff online for free if they want to ... so, to generalise, artists should at least want to have people get what they want from a good source. And, then, if the digital product is good enough, even when they've downloaded it for free, a good physical product (exclusives, limited editions, etc.) or a sheer love and appreciation for the music can drive people to pay. It wouldn't necessarily work for everyone, I guess, but it could certainly work for Linkin Park. If you're a fan of the band or otherwise don't mind taking risks, obviously, it's different. Before I'd even heard the lead single, I'd already made up my mind that "A Thousand Suns" was worth my money.
Releasing more than one song online before album release is nothing new, bands do it all the time. And it's also common practice to stream the entire album online on or close to release, which serves quite well for people wanting to hear it before purchasing. The band says the songs work best when the album is playd as a whole, not that they don't work at all individually (which they do.). Otherwise it'd only be available as one track.