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| On March 29, Calle 13 performed songs from the recently released album "MultiViral" at Mexico City's Vive Latino festival. |
The physical "MultiViral" album will be released
in US and Puerto Rico on April 22
San Juan, Puerto Rico (April 9, 2014) - Representatives of El Abismo, the independent label of Calle 13 -the band that holds the record for most Latin Grammy wins in the history of the awards- confirmed today that presales of the album "MultiViral" were well in excess of 100,000 units, in just one week, and has continued on that same pace during the first month of the tour, even when the physical product was still not available in key markets such as the US and Puerto Rico. "We are trying to make the album as accessible and available as possible. Tickets for all concerts in Latin America where we had control of the entrance, included a download card for the digital album", stated Nelson Montalvo, co-manager of Calle 13. He added, "It would be great to be able to do this in most of our concerts. It's not easy, because of logistics, but we will continue pursuing that goal".
While most bands release an album six to nine months prior to going on a supporting tour, Calle 13 has turned this approach upside down by simultaneously releasing their album and their tour, both named "MultiViral," on March 1st, a little over one month ago. René Pérez ("Residente"), author and vocalist of the group, expressed that "Releasing an album and kicking off a tour all at once meant that we all had a fairly ridiculous workload. But we were adamant about the audience being able to experience the full intensity of MultiViral, both from a live and recorded perspective, from day one." And he concluded, "...It also meant that we could be present in the international markets much sooner to support the release promotionally."
On the other hand, Eduardo Cabra ("Visitante"), who is Calle 13's musical director and producer referred to the album stating that "We're very pleased with the art that we were able to create in MultiViral and we're happy to share it with as many people as possible without all the walls. And what better way to immediately to broadcast all this, than in front of more than a quarter of a million fans in our first month of touring!"
Those who visit iTunes or a traditional physical retailer, will find the album accessibly priced. If they go to digital platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, Pandora or Vevo or any other streaming service, the album is available globally and is being heavily promoted. It's a very inclusive approach versus the exclusive approaches of the past."
Kevin Lawrie, co-manager of Calle 13 and a veteran of the music industry, commented about the strategy: "The band made it clear from the beginning that they wanted to make "MultiViral" immediately and broadly available to all comers. The staff at El Abismo pulled in some late nights and were up to the task as were our distribution partners, who understood what we were trying to accomplish and helped to bend the rules to help us get to where we needed to be."
The US and Puerto Rican street date for the physical format of the album "MultiViral" is April 22. The MultiViral tour is expected to continue through 2014-15.
CALLE 13 ONLINE
Instagram: @ResidenteCalle13 @Visitante13
