How did the Artic Monkeys release the fastest and biggest selling first album ever using the internet?

By this generation, the teenagers had no other way of living than using their computers. It created a new way of accessing information quickly. But not only information, it was the first time that you could hear music without buying the CD. The up and coming band at the time, the Arctic Monkeys, used this as an advantage. They managed to put out their songs onto different websites so people would easily have access to them. In turn, this created a virtual fan base which continued to grow. This meant that when they did release their CD there was great anticipation putting them against the successful bands at the time already, for example, Coldplay. As it received a lot of attention by fans, more and more people heard about them, aiding them to go viral.  The power that the forums were creating was unheard of at the time.