The Raconteurs (Jack Black and friends) just announced its new album, Consolers of the Lonely, will be out next week (via Third Man/Warner Bros). Considering that the album was finished earlier this month, that's an incredibly short period of time to get physical product to retailers. "Some places couldn't move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can," said the band's statement.

Why go through the rush? "We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME," said the band, "so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it's availability, reception or perception." In other words, advance promos tend to end up online. In addition, the rush release could be sufficient promotion for the time being. Lengthy pre-release marketing is not only less needed in the Internet age, it could end up hurting sales by allowing the music to find its way to P2P networks. The average garage band couldn't generate this kind of awareness, but The Raconteurs will get plenty of attention.

The rush release also reflects the lesser importance album reviews play in the Internet era. Four-star reviews in major music publications do not carry the weight they once did, so there is less of a need to send advance copies to journalists. Music websites can have a review up in less than a day, and a popular act such as The Raconteurs can expect some writers to buy their own copies in order to be quick to review.

In the past, some major acts (such as Eminem) bumped up an album's release date due to Internet leaks. Matador Records gives pre-release buyers access to album streams and showers them with extra content once the album is released. I think the rush release will become more popular (in part due to non-representative cases like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails). Bands should take advantage of the Internet's capabilities and start selling downloads as soon as possible. Brick-and-mortar stores may not be happy with playing catch up, but this is the new face of music retail.

[music jobs] The Beggars Group & Matador Records is seeking a Paralegal