In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Martin discussed the band’s trajectory as they gear up to release their upcoming 10th album, Moon Music.

“We are only going to do 12 proper albums and that’s real. Yeah, I promise,” Martin told Lowe. “Because less is more and for some of our critics, even less would be even more! It’s really important that we have that limit.”

 

While 12 may seem like an arbitrary number of albums for a band to call it quits at, Martin sees it more as a way of emulating the greats.

“There’s only seven Harry Potters. There’s only 12 and a half Beatles albums, there’s about the same for Bob Marley, so all our heroes. Also, having that limit means the quality control is so high right now and for a song to make it, it’s almost impossible, which is great. And so where we could be coasting, we’re trying to improve.”

Although their 12th album will be their final record, Martin says there will likely be some side projects with his bandmates Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion after they call it quits.

But for now, COLDPLAY fans will have to savor Moon Music when it arrives on October 4th, because after that, there will only be “two more proper albums” left from the band.