Creative Marketing Dept.: Raconteurs Announce New Collection One Week Before Release
We knew it was coming, but not like a happy sucker punch: Jack White announced last night that the second release by The Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely, will be released in exactly seven days. This is roughly the same advance notice we got for In Rainbows.
There’s something slightly nostalgic about short-notice releases — it’s like growing up in the pre-Internet world before you discovered trade papers or rock mags, when you found out about a new album by hearing the lead track on the radio. Kind of nice, that. Sometimes it’s refreshing not knowing how sausage is made.
Here is the press release, courtesy of the band’s extremely entertaining, if slightly buggy, TRS-80/Commodore 64-loving new Web 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 25th.
‘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 Bros. Records.
The album was mastered and completed in the first week of March. It was then taken immediately to a vinyl pressing plant. Then to a CD pressing plant. Then preparations to sell it digitally began. March 25th became the soonest date to have it available in EVERY FORMAT AT ONCE. The band have done no interviews or advertisements for this record before this announcement.
The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding its availability, reception or perception.
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 weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.
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