I saw a huge promo poster for Tha Carter IV this morning while walking downtown, the poster featured a release date of 8/29. I wondered if that was a typo, and if not, where the hell I’d been at to not know one of the most anticipated LP’s was being released in a week’s time. Turns out that it’s not a typo, and Lil’ Wayne will release the fourth installment of his “Tha Carter” series at midnight on August 29th directly after the conclusion of the MTV Video Music Awards.
Alvin Blanco of MTV writes:
“The YMCMB rapper’s latest will be released digitally via iTunes, Amazon and other legal MP3 download destinations at 12 a.m. on August 29. Those still dedicated to physical CDs need not worry since the album will be in retail stores later that Monday.”
Lil’ Wayne will also perform at the MTV VMA’s where he is up for awards in the Best Hip Hop and Best Collaboration categories. While Wayne is the first artist to coincide their new album with the MTV Awards, this midnight release follows a similar move by Kanye West and Jay-Z with Watch The Throne, as well as strategies used by Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and others.
Eskay of Nahright made a good point in his post, “You gotta love how these dudes are patting themselves on the back for this “groundbreaking” new strategy of releasing an album digitially on a day other than Tuesday. The industry should have been employing these kinds of outside the box, “event” type release strategies.”