When NxWorries, the duo of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge , released their second album on June 7, they made it available on vinyl, CD, and cassette. But fans had to wait a week to stream Why Lawd? The goal was “to recreate the nostalgic feeling of truly appreciating the experience of a physical product that we all grew up with in the pre-streaming era,” says Anna Savage , who manages Paak.
Not only that: “We wanted to do something special for their fans by giving them an opportunity to experience the record a little earlier,” adds Jason McGuire , general manager at Stone’s Throw, the label that supports NxWorries. Combined with a pop-up event in L.A.
, hopefully “more people [are] talking about the record leading up to the streaming date.” Most modern albums are released simultaneously on streaming services and in an array of physical versions — or they hit streamers first and the vinyl edition comes later. But as the streaming model is increasingly under attack from all sides, for undervaluing music and limiting artists’ ability to cultivate relationships with their fans, more acts are experimenting with alternative rollout strategies.
There shouldn’t be “a one-size-fits-all strategy,” says Andrew Jervis , chief curator of Bandcamp. “We’re talking about art here — we’re not talking about widgets.” The hope is that different approaches can fire up the base and serve to re-engage some listeners at a time when album releases are increasingly rote.