Pearl Jam performe

Pearl Jam Play Secret Seattle Show for Target Ad as Band Strikes Deals for New Release. "Pearl Jam have recorded a commercial for retail giant Target, and revealed that their new album will be released with a consortium of partners as opposed to a US label.

The band’s manager, Kelly Curtis, revealed in an interview that they have secured a deal with the store to be the ‘big box’ retail partner for the release of the record, which is their first since the end of their 18-year contract with Sony.

According to Billboard, the album, which is rumoured to be called ‘Backspacer’ will be released through numerous individual avenues including “ an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and with a network or possibly networks of indie retail stores.”

Given that Ten came to Rock Band and not another franchise and that they are planning on releasing the album through "a gaming partner," I think there may just be cause for cautious optimism. The live project they are working on with Harmonix seems quite a bit like a "partnership" to me.

There's been lots of exciting news coming out of the Pearl Jam camp lately. There's the Pearl Jam Rock Band video game project set for release next year. There's the news of a partnership with Target and other outlets for distribution of the band's upcoming album "Backspacer," which is set for release this fall. And of course there's the band premiering a song from the record live on the first episode of "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien."

Audio from the performance, which featured a new song called “The Fixer,” had been posted online at Antiquiet, who first broke news of the private gig, but the song has been pulled down “at request of artist.” According to the band’s manager Kelly Curtis, the secret concert was in fact the setting for a Target commercial, and the retail giant will have some hand in releasing Pearl Jam’s ninth studio album, rumored to be called Backspacer, in early autumn. The album’s first single, which may still be “The Fixer,” will be released in July, and Curtis tells Billboard the band is also nailing down deals with an online vendor, a mobile partner, a gaming company and a “network of indie retail stores.”



Like Best Buy and Walmart, Target has been in the market for exclusive music releases, recently scoring the sole retail rights for Prince’s LOtUSFLOW3R triptych. Pearl Jam released their last self-titled album, or Avocado as the fans call it, through J Records, but did not re-sign to the label, making them free agents. While fans might be quick to jump on Pearl Jam for striking a deal of any sort with a retail giant, Curtis tells Billboard.biz, “Everyone’s making assumptions because Target is a big corporation. It’s important to remember we just got out of this 18-year relationship with Sony, and I’m pretty sure they are a bigger corporation than Target.” Curtis also added, “Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition” and that the band’s official Ten Club will also offer the new album.

According to Curtis, the Showbox filming will serve several purposes, as Vedder will soon embark on a solo tour and leave the band limited time to record promotional footage. Crowe, who gave the band cameos in his 1992 classic Singles, is reportedly filming a Pearl Jam documentary to celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary in 2011, so the Showbox footage might feature in that as well.

While some lucky Seattle natives got a sneak peek at the new PJ track, the band will clue in the rest of America when they play “The Fixer” or possibly another new tune tonight on the debut episode of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien. Pearl Jam and Will Ferrell have been announced as Conan’s first guests, and PJ are due to perform fresh music. Pearl Jam’s upcoming Brendan O’Brien-produced album is expected out in the fall, and the quintet are already scheduled for headlining gigs at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival and Austin, Texas’ Austin City Limits.

Pearl Jam’s BACKSPACER is the group’s new 2009 album. Pearl Jam’s new album Backspacer hits Target this fall, promoted by an appearance on Conan O’Brien’sTonight Show Monday.

Backspacer is not just Pearl Jam’s new album but their first without a label, after they recently ended a 18 year contract with Sony. Instead, similar to the Prince release, Pearl Jam’s album will drop tentatively at Target on September 22, 2009, but unlike Prince will not be exclusive to Target.

The band confirms that while Target will be the sole big retailer, yet smaller mom and pop music stores will be able to sell the new album.

Billboard reports the album as dropping in “ an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and with a network or possibly networks of indie retail stores.”