Poor Jack White. He wanted the latest album by the Raconteurs, Consolers Of The Lonely, to hit stores around the world today with no advance warning (and, presumably, no advance availablity), but his plans were foiled by the archaic structures of the world’s traditional music-retail outlets, which needed advance notice of the album in order to, um, actually have it on their shelves. “We had to tell more and more shops - that’s why it was announced a week ahead,” Ben Beadsworth of XL Recordings told the NME, and presumably he and the band figured that those shopkeepers were lousy at keeping secrets from their not-as-in-the-know customers and other riff-raff. If only those Santas in the picture were real, right? [NME]
the new model
The Raconteurs’ Plans For A Sneak Attack Were Foiled By Retail
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the new model
the new model
Secret albums. That’ll spike sales. Jack White needs to team up with Lefsetz to save the music industry!
I’m betting Axl Rose is watching how all this plays out verrrrrrry closely.
I think the important distinction here is that the proper release becomes available — not in brick and mortar locations, but available nonetheless — immediately after the album is announced. The people most interested in hearing it are probably more likely to pay for it this way.
@Elijah-M: Yeah, that’s pretty much the raison d’etre of any leak blog, minus the ‘more likely to pay’ part.
As with Gnarls, the retail prices will probably remain untouched for a few weeks (i.e. no sale pricing for people who like to buy their new releases on a Tuesday), which is something I think Consolers may have a leg up on with the brick & mortar stores. Didn’t Drag City release the last two Jim O’Rourke records without a two-month pre-press release, since he prefers to somewhat “shock” his audience by appearing out of nowhere in the shops? I recall that mom & pop outlets carried it with little fanfare (but stacks of copies), and it took a week for everyone else to play catch-up, even Amazon.
@CloudCarrier: I don’t know what Target will be charging, but both the Raconteurs and Gnarls Barkley CDs are currently $9.99 at Amazon.
So basically, Jack wants the immediacy of a modern digital release, only without the “digital” part…
Sigh - isn’t he the cutest thing?
Does anybody know if Pitchfork aren’t reviewing it on purpose? I looove Jack’s hair in the new video…is it just my dodgy connection or is it supposed to look like it’s buffering? http://www.theraconteurs.com
Had trouble finding this album yesterday. Wal-Mart is actually the only place around that had it in…And it’s a pretty sweet album by the way.