The September 20 release of Pearl Jam's ninth studio album, Backspacer, will benefit from a creative compromise that will see the album released physically at Target stores and indie retailers via the Coalition of Independent Music Stores' Junketboy division. Universal Music will distribute the record internationally. Backspacer will be available digitally at the iTunes Music Store and via the band's website."We've put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and we've done it in a way that we think will be good for everybody," Eddie Vedder told Billboard. "I can't think of anything we've ever done without putting it through our own personal moral barometer. Target has passed for us. The fans just have to trust us."
"We went into it really open," adds manager Kelly Curtis. "We always knew we needed lots of partners. It's easy to go do a one-off with Target, Best Buy or Wal-Mart. The part that's hard is how do you get the other ingredients: the indies, mobile, online, the fan club."
The band recently cut a deal with Verizon's V Cast platform, a first for Pearl Jam, offering fans live bootlegs. The deal has since been extended to include ringtones and ringbacks of the band's forthcoming release and mobile bootlegs of their fall tour.
The album is also encoded with Sony's DADC's eBridge technology allowing fans to unlock extra content. The Target release will bump users to a vault of eleven concerts from which two can be selected. An organic cotton t-shirt will also be sold at the big retailer, with proceeds going to Feeding America.
Cameron Crowe also directed a television ad that features live footage from a May performance at the Showbox in Seattle.
Additionally, Backspacer will get the full DLC Rock Band 2 treatment on the same day as the album's release, possibly leading to a full Pearl Jam Rock Band game sometime in 2010.
Vedder also revealed that Backspacer is Pearl Jam's shortest album, clocking in at just under 37 minutes. "At one of our gigs, without flashpots and electricity, there's only so much room for those more difficult listening songs," Vedder joked. "That was one reason why we kept the arrangements lean. The songs come off more like sparkling water than pea soup, and I think that's good for our group right now."
Source: FMQB
