NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Pearl Jam has pacted with retail-giant Target in an exclusive deal to sell their forthcoming album without a U.S. label, Billboard reported.
According to the report, the band isn't working with a label, but a "consortium of partners" that includes not only Target, but also potentially an online retailer, a mobile partner and a video game developer.
Although Target will be the only major brick & mortar retailer for the album, the deal will also allow for the album to be distributed through indie record shops as well. "Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition," Kelly Curtis Pearl Jam's manager told Billboard.
Pearl Jam has also recorded some live performance footage at a recent show at Seattles' Showbox Theatre to be used in a commercial for Target, directed by Cameron Crowe, music blog Antiquiet.com reported. Footage of the performance may also be used in an unspecified project Crowe is working on that is related to the band's 20th anniversary.
The forthcoming album is tentatively slated for a fall release and will mark the band's 9th album. The band is planning a world tour in support of the release and fans can likely look for a new single in July.
Pearl Jam had been under contract with various Sony imprints for almost two decades but recently opted not to renew. Other bands such as AC/DC and The Eagles have found considerable success in signing similar exclusive distribution deals with Wal-Mart rather than relying on the traditional major label distribution route. AC/DC's recent "Black Ice" notched up nearly 800,000 in sales in their first week.
"This is an ongoing experiment," Curtis told Billboard. "Every time we do something it's new for us, and were not trying to tackle the whole world at once. All we've been searching for forever is independence and control over our own stuff. The way of releasing records is changing every day. This is the best way we could do it ourselves in America. Right or wrong, we'll figure that out and make it better the next time." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
