Elisa Bray: Caught in the Net

Following a long Libertines tradition of giving music away to the fans, Carl Barat and his Dirty Pretty Things are releasing their new single "Hippy's Son" as a free download. The first track from their sophomore album Romance At Short Notice, due out on 30 June, is available now on the band's website http://dirtyprettythings.trinitystreetdirect.com.

This might confuse those who saw, a fortnight ago, Barat criticising the effect giveaways like Coldplay's "Violet Hill" have on the music industry. But Barat seems to object to bands of Coldplay's size and fortune giving away music just because they can afford to, leaving up-and-coming bands struggling to compete. Perhaps it's just as well the rumour that Martin and co were planning to do a "download one song get another free" deal on their upcoming album has been quashed by their management.

Undiscovered bands and their labels continue to push free tracks in a bid to attract fans. New Zealand indie-pop band Collapsing Cities, already popular with Radio 1, are giving away their debut single "Fear of Opening My Mouth" via Tune Tribe, http://www.tunetribe.com/Article?article_id=2065.

Young popsters The Clik Clik are offering a free Plastic Little remix of their infectiously catchy "My Dunks" at http://www.myspace.com/theclikclik.

Manchester trio Twisted Wheel had 15 labels after their frenetic northern guitar rock. The victorious Sony is offering their track "Smash It Up" as a free download from http://ftp.sonybmgmusic.co.uk/TW_smash_it_up.zip.