Brian Wilson + USA Today = Lame

Nobody reads newspapers anymore anyway, so what’s the damn point, Bri?

By Fred Mills

In a stunning affirmation of media mediocrity, today it was announced that Brian Wilson and Capitol Records / EMI are partnering with Gannett for an exclusive premiere of Wilson’s new album, That Lucky Old Sun, due Sept. 2  Gannett, of course, has as its flagship publication USA Today, which thanks to its “McNugget” style of CD reviewing and dumbed-down music reporting is largely responsible for leading other music media down an equally, er, dumb path.

Ever wonder why magazines publish those pointless 50-word reviews of records and try to pass ‘em off as rock criticism? You’ve got USA Today and its clueless cadre of “critics” to thank for pioneering that particular low art form.

On to the inevitable press release, copied below. While we have heard the Wilson album and think that it truly is the shit, the fact that Wilson, who doesn’t need the patronage of a newspaper chain to get the word out in any context of his activities, is a sad statement indeed upon the future of pop marketing. They’re calling it “innovative promotion”; we call it, “selling out.”

“This music is really special to me and I hope that everyone will enjoy it!,” says Brian Wilson. We hope so too, Brian. Especially all those grandmaws and grandpaws who read USA Today.

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From August 22 to September 1, more than 50 Gannett newspaper and TV station websites, including USATODAY.com, will exclusively offer full streaming audio of Wilson’s new album before its September 2 release. The innovative promotion is the first of its kind for Gannett, which has never before partnered with an artist to offer an album premiere across its media Websites.

Visitors to select Gannett sites, including USATODAY.com, 32 local Gannett newspaper websites and 19 local Gannett TV websites, will be able to listen to the full 38-minute album in sequence or skip ahead or back to individual tracks. The album will not be available for download from Gannett’s sites, but the streaming audio player will link directly to Amazon.com to pre-order the CD, limited edition CD/DVD and digital album.

While it is fairly common practice for artists to offer promotional pre-release web streaming of new music, it is a unique arrangement to stream an album on newspaper and TV websites. For Gannett, this is an opportunity to deliver new music from a respected artist familiar to its core news audience. Top Gannett markets were chosen for the web streams, some because of the size of the market, others because of a large Brian Wilson fan base.

“Streaming a full album is a first for Gannett, so we are thrilled to be working with Capitol Records and a musician of Brian Wilson’s stature to deliver music in a new way to our online audiences. This positions us well to expand our digital platforms while demonstrating the power of Gannett to deliver quality content across a network of websites,” said Jim Lenahan, strategic development manager for Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing division.

Brian Wilson is one of popular music’s most deeply revered figures, a legendary writer, producer, arranger and performer of some of the most cherished music in rock history. For the release of his new studio album, That Lucky Old Sun, Wilson has returned to Capitol Records / EMI, his original label home. The new album will be released on CD, limited edition CD/DVD, and digitally on September 2 (September 1 internationally).  On August 19, the album is released as a limited edition 180-gram vinyl LP.