Coldplay's Strong Sales Buck Industry Trend

Near the beginning of Coldplay's free concert at Madison Square Garden on Monday night to promote its new album, “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends," Chris Martin, the lead singer, joked with the crowd: “I understand there have been some complaints about the ticket price." The roar of 11,500 fans suggested they were quite happy.

The band and its label, Capitol, also had plenty to be happy about. “Viva la Vida" sold 316,000 copies in the United States on June 17, its first day of release, and is expected to reach No. 1 this week with sales in excess of 700,000, industry executives say. (Final figures will be released by Nielsen SoundScan on Wednesday.)

The success of “Viva la Vida" affirms Coldplay's stature as a superstar act and underlines the importance of nontraditional marketing. In late April the band made its song “Violet Hill" available as a free download for a week, and the show at Madison Square Garden, which drew a capacity crowd, followed free concerts in London and Barcelona last week. The band was also featured in a prominent television commercial for iTunes.

“You have to try and be more creative these days to get people's attention," said Dave Holmes, Coldplay's manager. “You can't rely as much on the traditional methods."