Keane to sell next single on USB flash drive

20 October 2006 14:04 GMT / By Amber Maitland

Rock band Keane is releasing its latest single, Nothing In My Way, on USB flash drives, next month.

According to Island Records, the band is the first to release a single on a USB flash drive. Barenaked Ladies started selling whole albums on USB drives last year, and Robbie Williams flirted with digital media by selling his Greatest Hits album on an MMC card in 2004.

However, the idea didn't catch on, in part because the album on the memory card cost £30, which is far more than either the album on CD or the memory card itself.

Keane's single will cost just £4, which is about what a single on a CD costs. Along with the MP3 track, there's also a music video stored on the drive, which has a storage capacity of 512MB.

Interestingly, the audio track carries no DRM protection, which means it can be shared amongst computers indiscriminately. Perhaps that's why only 1500 of them will be available, all sold through HMV stores.

Full tags

Hardware, Storage, Island Records, Keane