5 Things to Know About Radiohead’s The King of Limbs Release

Radiohead self-released The King of Limbs as a download first. The album was available for download on February 18, 2011, before any physical version.

The physical release came over a month later. XL Recordings handled the physical release on March 28, 2011.

This was not Radiohead’s first digital-first release. They had previously released In Rainbows as a pay-what-you-want download in 2007.

The download version was the only way to hear the album for weeks. Fans had to wait over a month for CDs and vinyl.

The strategy bypassed traditional record label timelines. Radiohead controlled the release date and format, letting fans access the music immediately.