album

In an earlier entry I gushed about the new album coming out from my favorite band The Corrs. It is going to be called “Home” and will have interpretations of several traditional Irish songs including a couple in Gaelic.

Many of us long time fans have loved the band’s nuggets of traditional Irish music on their earlier albums and we are excited to have a whole album worth of them.

The album is scheduled to be released on September 26th in Ireland and the UK and September 27th in Europe and Canada.

However, fans in the United States may have to wait until 2006 or never for the US release.

It isn’t the first time the band has limited a release to certain areas. In 2002, “Live in Dublin” was only released in the US to go along with the VH1 special of the same name. But “LID” wasn’t a regular studio album. It had most of their hits plus a few new cover songs. The biggest hit off that album was “When Stars Go Blue” that they did with Bono from U2.

The record company has also released different versions of the same album in the different markets. Albums released in Japan and Australia typically have had bonus tracks and other goodies included that aren’t available even in a UK release.

But what has a lot of us worried is that it seems Atlantic Records in the US are no longer supporting the band which could explain why there doesn’t seem to be a US release date for “Home” after release dates in Europe and Canada were announced.

A couple of fans called Atlantic in New York and were told the band isn’t on Atlantic (US) – that they are now with their international division, Warner Music International. That division distributes artists outside the US so the band has been with them the whole time.

There is a logical explanation to all of this. The music business is complex. Even though a label may distribute an artist all over the world, the individual divisions decide what artists to carry and sell in their own markets. Some groups are popular internationally so you will find their albums everywhere but some other band or singer unknown outside their country may only be distributed in their home country – like Daniel and Gilberto Gil of Brazil or Alejandro Sanz from Spain. Someone here in the US would have trouble just going down to the local record shop and getting an album from them.

Most of these decisions are based on money. It costs money to make, promote, and distribute albums and the record companies make their decisions based on if they are likely to recover their costs. Basically they decide if the market is large enough to justify the expense.

Although a logical explanation – it does seem illogical. A band won’t be distributed unless the market is large enough for the costs, but the market won’t be large enough unless the band is distributed and promoted.

Bands and singers help the process by touring and getting radio play. Those two actions are the greatest driver of record sales and if sales are up then a record company is more likely to spend more money and then bring out more albums.

Frankly, The Corrs are far more popular in Europe and Asia than they are in the US but they still do pretty good here with little to no radio play and occasional touring and TV appearances. “Home” is a traditional Irish music album and that kind of music is a niche market here. They won’t sell as many as they did for their last pop album 2004’s “Borrowed Heaven”, but there are a large number of fans who will buy the album just because it is The Corrs.

With the Internet, it is easier to buy the album as an import but we would much rather contribute to US sales than the sales of Canada or Europe.

I’m one fan who hopes this is just a bump and the next pop album is released here when it comes out and the band tours North America again like they did in 2004. Of course until the release comes along this is all speculation and Atlantic Records could surprise us. Who knows?

The Corrs Return Home To Their Irish Roots
The Corrboard – US based fan forum
Corrs Official Website

Update

The album was finally released in the US on February 7th 2006 by Rhino Records.

Rhino: The Corrs – Home

This weekend I had the chance to watch and listen to short gig my favorite band The Corrs gave as part of French RTL2 network. It was a private concert in that one had to be invited to it but they broadcast it live over the radio and had a video feed on their website. The Corrs were one of several acts to perform.

The gig marked the debut of 4 songs from their upcoming album tentatively titled “Home” that according to lead singer Andrea would be released in September or October.

The songs were (all titles are tentative at this point) Black is the Color, Lagan Love, Heart Like A Wheel, Old Hag You Killed Me. There had been speculation and from band interviews that the new album would return to the traditional sound they had on their first album “Forgiven Not Forgotten”. There would be more emphasis on traditional Irish sounds and from the preview presented over the weekend, it seems that is what the new album will feature.