Salute Your Solution

Superdrag in the studio

Yesssssssssss

From The Raconteur's site:

The Raconteurs are happy to announce that in one week's time their second album, entitled "Consolers of the Lonely", will be available EVERYWHERE Tuesday, March 25.

"Album" meaning: full length vinyl, CD and digital formats; and "everywhere" meaning: local mom and pop indie retailers, corporate superstores, supermarkets, iTunes, Amazon, the band's own website and any other location that could get the record up and going this quickly (some places couldn't move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can).

It contains 14 new recordings and is being released globally on Third Man Records in conjunction with our marketing/distribution partners, XL Recordings and Warner Brothers Recordings.

With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important "first week sales". We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by its first week sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.

Another purpose was to also allow people to have their own choice as to exactly which format they would like to hear the album in IMMEDIATELY, rather than having to wait for their favorite format to become available. The band are also not releasing any version of this record that contains bonus tracks.

The band also prefer that fans buy the album as a whole instead of breaking up the tracks, but until iTunes and other digital services allows bands to release their albums with the option of NOT breaking it up, it will be sold in that fashion on those particular sites. On the band's website however, the album will be sold in its entirety as an mp3 at 320kb bit rate. Also in Japan, fans will be able to download the record via their mobile phones, as that is how a majority of recorded music is consumed there.

The reason we are announcing this release one week ahead of time is because of retail pre-ordering and stocking, information about this album's imminent release was bound to come to light and could be confusing to fans.

Also in the event that the record leaks, we didn't want this method of release to be seen as a REACTION to such a leak. It's not. The actual worst thing about a leak is the usual poor sound quality, aking to watching a movie on a wristwatch instead of in a theater. Which for the album's creators is a bit of a letdown, it is completely up to the listener.

There will be a video up to on the internet for the first single, "Salute Your Solution", on the 25th as well, provided it gets edited in time. We just filmed it the other day!

We hope not to confuse anyone with too many options, or deny them the formats that they like best. The Raconteurs feel very strongly that music has worth and should be treated as such. Thank you for all those who respect music in this fashion, and thank you to our label partners for working with us to get this album to fans in as many formats as possible all at once.

Thank you, and we hope that you enjoy "Consolers of the Lonely".

Sincerely,
The Raconteurs

I'm very pumped that more and more bands are skipping the months and months of pre-promotion before an album is released and just getting their stuff in stores (Radiohead and NIN are a few current examples). Hopefully this is a trend that will continue.

Catchup

Saw the Foos and the Hives last week. Foos were reliable and consistent; Hives pretty much rocked my socks off. I think the $33 difference between the ticket prices may have something to do with it. Here are the reviews from the Strib from these shows - I'm too lazy to type out my own thoughts at the moment.

Foo Review
Hives Review

Nine Inch Nails has just released a new record this evening on the Internets. 36 instrumental tracks. You can get a download of the album for a measly 5 bucks. I've been trying to snag it, but the site is just getting pummeled at the moment. Anyways, you can check out some of the tracks at http://ghosts.nin.com/.