In response to our reporting yesterday of a new Pearl Jam song being unveiled at a video shoot, many fans are skeptical about the part of the story that claims the shoot was for a commercial for retail giant Target. This skepticism is seemingly supported by Pearl Jam’s well-established reputation for shunning corporate endorsement with insolent flair, as well as by reports that esteemed director Cameron Crowe was on the scene.
However, we’ve confirmed through multiple, somewhat reliable sources that Pearl Jam’s new album, due out this fall, will in fact be retailed exclusively by Target. And if the rest of the story is true, it wouldn’t be anything new for Crowe; big-time directors direct uncredited TV spots more often than most people are aware. Since 2002, Crowe has been no exception, beginning with an ad for the Gap, starring Kate Beckinsale and Orlando Bloom.
Before you freak out, we’re told that the deal with Target only applies to retail, and allows for the still label-free Pearl Jam to continue to sell this album on their own and through their fan club, as usual. As our resident Pearl Jam superfan Johnny Firecloud recently ranted on a message board, “When have they not stood head and shoulders above any other band in looking out for their fans… in deciding which cause to support or which flag to fly? That’s right- never… Whatever deal has been worked out, I think it’s pretty safe to say the guys know what they’re doing.”
This song to be featured in the Target commercial will reportedly be debuted Monday night, as performed on the premiere of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien. Claims that the song is called The Fixer as opposed to Something’s Going On are rampant, yet so far unsubstantiated. We’ll find out soon enough.
UPDATE, 06/01: The band’s manager, Kelly Curtis, has confirmed the Target deal in an exclusive interview with Billboard. As Curtis had said before, the band had always intended to make deals with “a number of partners.” To those with feathers ruffled over the band aligning with a big, bad corporation, Curtis asserted, “Its 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. We have the freedom to pick our partners and more control when we’ve ever had before.”
Other new revelations: The song is indeed called The Fixer. It may or may not be the single to be released officially in July, and it may or may not be performed tonight on The Tonight Show tonight. Pearl Jam’s new album, only rumored to be entitled Backspacer, remains slated for an early fall release. As I theorized in the comments section, Universal Music Group will distribute the album internationally.
The footage from the Showbox performance will indeed be used for a Target commercial promoting the new album, but it may also be integrated into a Pearl Jam documentary that Cameron Crowe has been working on for quite awhile, to be released in 2011 in honor of the band’s 20th anniversary.
“Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition,” Curtis said. And addressing anyone currently doubting their faith in the band, “I make decisions around the band’s business that are consistent with their overall philosophy… Which is to sell music in a way that’s accessible and affordable to their fans, on every distribution platform that their fans access music, and in a way that takes care of the little guys.”
About Skwerl
Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill was taught his first computer programming language by his Mother's marijuana dealer at age ten. His first job involved hustling TicketMaster lines on behalf of a New Jersey concert ticket broker at age fourteen, followed by a job in graphic design shortly after graduating high school and trade school simultaneously in 1998. He built his first website in 1996 or so, and continues to do things the way they should be done, rather than the way everyone else does. He's a bit of an asshole, but he's fiercely loyal to fellow fans of good music.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Skwerl now resides in Los Angeles.
May 30th, 2009 at 9:03 PM
[...] article published today at Antiquiet suggests that the new song Pearl Jam debuted at a recent surprise filming will be used for a new [...]
May 30th, 2009 at 9:36 PM
Where’s my photo credit, motherfucker!? Don’t make me revoke your bail. ;)
May 31st, 2009 at 8:23 AM
Hmmm… no Target stores in Canada.
May 31st, 2009 at 9:46 AM
well they seem to have deals in place for outside of the us. someone snapped a photo of a tour poster in europe with a universal logo on it. that was confusing to me- universal has fontana for independent distribution. but who knows.
May 31st, 2009 at 3:27 PM
That sticker on his guitar is a british “mod” sign that was used back during the Mod Scene in London in the 60’s. The Who have also used it many times……..
I’m not buying this. The story that is…….I will of course get the album.
May 31st, 2009 at 3:45 PM
the mod sticker on his guitar has absolutely nothing to do with the story. i dug that up afterwards- johnny took it in san francisco in 2006. we confirmed the deal through sources in the industry, and connected to the band.
May 31st, 2009 at 7:00 PM
HOw very sad that Pearl Jam has sold out….I never thought that this would happen….phuque off Eddie..I’ll not be buying the new CD
May 31st, 2009 at 7:03 PM
I used to laugh at how they stood up to Ticketmaster because they did not want their fans to get ripped off, but then you would go to a show and pay at least $25.00 for a shirt that most likely cost $1.00 to make given the quantities of t-shirts produced. Yeah, they did try to look after their fans, but i felt it was a pretty lame effort. The only band i think is guilty free over the years is Fugazi. And i actually do like Pearl Jam. They just make me laugh on their half assed platforms.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:06 AM
I really, *really* hope they “know what they’re doing”….
June 1st, 2009 at 7:49 AM
That isn’t a target logo. It’s a Who logo. Eddie’s had it on his guitar for a while know.
June 1st, 2009 at 9:24 AM
it’s not a who logo either. it’s a mod symbol that the who have used. but we covered that.
June 1st, 2009 at 9:51 AM
Ugh!
Learn your history, folks.
The “target” is an RAF insignia, borrowed by the Who.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force
June 1st, 2009 at 10:00 AM
ah yes. true. originally raf, appropriated by the mods, appropriated by the who, appropriated by pearl jam.
June 1st, 2009 at 1:23 PM
the band has confirmed:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/exclusive-pearl-jam-confirms-target-tie-1003978374.story
June 1st, 2009 at 2:11 PM
[...] UPDATE: The Target deal has been confirmed by Pearl Jam. Read more, including song titles, a possible album title, extensive quotes on the bands motives behind the new arrangement and more here. [...]
June 1st, 2009 at 2:15 PM
The key quotes from that article: “networks of indie retail stores” and “Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition”. Kinda lame partnering with Target, but at least indie stores are still being mentioned.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:18 PM
According to the article, Target will be the only big retailer, but there will be other ways to purchase the album, not only at Target stores but online, indie stores, game networks, etc….. so it’s not like they are signing a deal with the devil, only testing new options to get the music out there.
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:17 AM
The song actually is called “Get Some” and is entirely different than “The Fixer”
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:25 AM
the song performed in seattle was the fixer. the song performed on the tonight show was got some.
July 20th, 2009 at 1:41 AM
[...] to the puzzle we’ll have waiting for us on Sept. 20, when Backspacer arrives. And not just at Target, [...]
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:42 PM
[...] was buzzing just over a month ago about Pearl Jam’s intent to release the upcoming Backspacer exclusively through big box retailer, Target… of course, that news was trumped by Pearl Jam’s appearance on the flagship episode of [...]
August 28th, 2009 at 4:26 PM
[...] Fixer” “Got Some” from their forthcoming album Backspacer. A release the band is said to be teaming up with retail chain Target to put [...]
February 8th, 2010 at 12:12 AM
[...] doesn’t have a label, and by scaling back their goals they succeeded beyond the model. They worked out their own distribution deal for their last album and they continue to sell out shows within minutes. Why? Because the music is [...]