'No Name' and Rock Mystique

Jack White surprise released his new album last Friday 19th July, with an intriguing release strategy.

Customers who made a purchase at his Third Man Record stores that day were slipped an additional item – a white-label vinyl album with an unmarked sleeve, titled ‘no name’.

Third Man’s Instagram gave the lucky owners permission to ‘Rip it’ and upload it to YouTube and other file sharing sites, so others could enjoy.

The super limited-edition records are already selling on eBay for upwards of $500.

The reaction has been universal acclaim for what’s been described as White’s most urgent record in years, high praise for a man already considered one of rock’s consistently brilliant figures.

The timing of the release, coinciding with the global internet outage caused by the CrowdStrike glitch, couldn’t have been more perfect. It’s a reminder how fragile the musical ecosystem will be if we become totally reliant on streaming services.

Writing in the Detroit Free Press, Brian McCollum called the record a ‘stand for Rock Mystique’, saying that White ‘score[d] another victory for vinyl records – but even more important, for the magic of absorbing new music with mystique intact…a throwback to the days when mystique meant something as a music lover.’

No artwork. No tracklisting. No marketing. No title. No official release date. Even Third Man store employees weren’t given any information on what they were handing out.

Just an outstanding record that generated an enormous amount of hype around the world.

It will be treasured by those lucky enough to own a copy, and desired by those who don’t.

Obviously not everyone could pull off this type of release strategy. Jack White not only has an immense profile and loyal fanbase, but he’s the owner of his own record pressing plant, and has his own distribution chain with his physical stores in Nashville, Detroit, and London.

But it’s an intriguing and welcome statement from a figure that has done more than anyone in recent memory to champion physical over digital.

Check out the record on YouTube by searching for Jack White, No Name.

Mary x

(I really like this self-produced video for ‘Ornithology’ from newsletter subscriber Sprawler Fu – check it out.)

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