As Internet reports suggested, Pearl Jam was indeed recording a Target commercial under the direction of Cameron Crowe last week at Seattle’s Showbox theater. But there is more to the story than an exclusive retail relationship.
It has been known that Pearl Jam is no longer under contract after 18 years of recording for Sony-affiliated labels, and there has been a good deal of speculation about who would release the rock act’s next album.
Kelly Curtis, who has managed Pearl Jam since its inception, conducted a wide-ranging interview Sunday night, confirming that the band’s next album — rumored to be called “Backspacer” and currently scheduled for an early fall release — would arrive without a U.S. label. Instead, it would be backed by a consortium of partners, including Target as the “big box” retail partner.
“We’ll have a lot of partners,” said Curtis, who confirmed that deals were finished or in the works with an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and a network or possibly networks of indie retail stores.
Curtis said he could not release any more details about the partnerships, but he did have nice words for Target.
“We wish we could tell the whole story right now, but all the deals aren’t done. Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition,” Curtis said. He was quick to note that the album would be for sale via Pearl Jam’s fan club, Ten Club.
News of the Target commercial taping broke last week on antiquiet.com, which is also hosting a bootleg recording from the Target taping of a song that Curtis confirmed was called “The Fixer” and is in the running as the album’s first single.
Curtis said the Target commercial was only one reason for the Showbox session. With singer Eddie Vedder on tour supporting his solo work for the next month, “[Pearl Jam] had a narrow window to get some footage,” some of which may be used for a project that filmmaker Crowe is working on in connection with the band’s upcoming 20th anniversary, according to the manager.
LATE-NIGHT TV APPEARANCE
Pearl Jam will play at least one new song Monday night on the debut of the Conan O’Brien-hosted “Tonight Show.”
“That was booked months ago,” Curtis said. “We didn’t even know if the album was going to be finished when we booked it.”
Curtis also confirmed that the band would tour to support its latest album, which would be released internationally via Universal Music Group.
Of the decision to have multiple partners back the album, including Target, Curtis said that it was the best way to reach Pearl Jam’s fan base.
“I make decisions around the band’s business that are consistent with its overall philosophy, which is to sell music in a way that’s accessible and affordable to its fans, on every distribution platform that its fans (use to) access music, and in a way that takes care of the little guys,” said Curtis.
He added that any criticism of the partnership with Target is unwarranted and should be taken in light of the fact that Pearl Jam and Sony are no longer in business with each other.
“Everyone’s making assumptions because Target is a big corporation,” Curtis said. “Its important to remember we just got out of this 18-year relationship with Sony and I’m pretty sure it is a bigger corporation than Target. We have the freedom to pick our partners and more control than we’ve ever had before. We’re excited to choose who we’re in business with.”
Curtis also said it was important to him and to the band to redefine the notion of an “exclusive” retail partnership.
“I appreciate the efforts of bands like AC/DC and Radiohead” said the manager, referring to two of the bands that have recently had self-released albums. “But I wanted our plan to be multidimensional, to address old and modern ways of fans accessing music. It will allow all of our fans to have the same access.”
The bottom line was that the new arrangement gives Pearl Jam an enhanced amount of control over the production and sale of its albums, something that Curtis said was a long time coming.
“This is an ongoing experiment,” he said. “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.”
