It's been a big day for fans of Selena Gomez and Coldplay.

The former Disney star announced a surprise single in a post to her 158 million Instagram followers, while - in contrast - the British group chose to reveal the tracks of their latest album in a local newspaper.

Coldplay's retro marketing move harks back to a time before artists made announcements on Instagram.

So how has the internet changed the way music is released, and is it really that different?

Cutting out the middle man
Gomez is not alone in announcing new music directly to her followers.

Ariana Grande shocked followers by releasing her album's title song without any prior warning last November, while Taylor Swift has announced everything from album titles to release dates on Instagram.