R.E.M. Launching New Album On iLike

Forget the traditional radio premiere: R.E.M.'s new album, "Accelerate," is set to debut on the social networking application iLike.
The roll-out, the first of its kind for a major act, will allow fans to stream and share "Accelerate" in its entirety beginning March 24, a week ahead of the album's April 1 release date.
"It was one of those ideas that was presented to us and it seemed like a good one so we ran for it," R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe tells Billboard.com. He also noted that the way people embrace music "has certainly changed in the last 5 or 10 years. I think you can either go with it or sit back and watch it happen, and I would rather be out on the field than in the bleachers."