Coldplay's new single 'Violet Hill', which was made available as a free mp3 for seven days, has been downloaded by two million people since becoming available on Tuesday.
The track, which is the first track to be taken from their new album 'Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends', has now been removed from the band's official site and will now only be available as a regular paid download.
A spokesperson for the band pointed out that it would have outsold the rest of last week's TOp 40 singles "four times over".
Meanwhile, the PR man for retail giant HMV said he expected the band to benefit from album sales, with their new set available from June 12.
“Coldplay will not have made a huge loss by giving away their first single because they are very much a group that connects with their fans via their album," HMV's Gennaro Castaldo said. “The industry will be looking very carefully at how the album sells following their decision to allow their fans to downlaod the first single for free.”
