Raconteurs Rush To Market Next Week

by Jonathan Cohen

The Raconteurs are eschewing the standard months-long wait between finishing an album and releasing it with Consolers of the Lonely, which will hit retail March 25 via Third Man/Warner Bros. The set wasn't even completed until the first week of March, according to a statement from the band.

"The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised," the Jack White-featuring band says. "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 it's availability, reception or perception."

Consolers will be available on CD, vinyl and digital through leading retailers. "Some places couldn't move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can," reads the statement, without elaboration.

The Raconteurs' Web site will offer the album as a complete download in 320kb fidelity. Individual tracks will be available at iTunes and Amazon.com. A video for the first single, "Salute Your Solution," will hit the Web on March 25.

The Raconteurs, which finds White surrounded by Brendan Benson, Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence, released their debut album, "Broken Boy Soldiers," in May 2006. Their move here extends the experimentation of acts like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails in delivering music outside the parameters of the traditional label system

"We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter," the band says. "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."

SOURCE: Billboard