Wilco offered the album for free on the Web six months ago, and it has since been vigorously traded on peer-to-peer networks, making it the best test to date of the Internet’s culpability in the current record-industry slump. If the album sells despite having been released online, the industry could lose its favorite scapegoat–and have to focus attention on other explanations for the current listless state of CD sales.
First recorded for Reprise, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was available from Wilco on the Internet. Now, it’s being released on Nonesuch Records. Will the online distribution have an effect on sales? Since Being There is a good album, I’m now planning on picking up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot…
