The Gossip’s Label Under Delusion That Import Sections Still Exist In Record Stores

The major-label debut by the Gossip, the bluespunk-cum-disco outfit that launched (for better or worse) Beth Ditto into the UK’s celebrity stratosphere, is finally coming out, after many magazine covers and unfortunate dalliances with Perez Hilton. Music For Men comes out in England June 22, but US fans of the band will have to wait if they want to legally acquire the record from a non-Amazon UK source—until October. Say what?

In an age where more records’ release dates are being pushed up because of leaks, holding back an album for that long—yet making it available as an import—seems like a suicide move, particularly when the band in question is one whose core audience is the overly online-savvy indie world. Is this idea an attempt to make the Gossip seem retro? Or to try the not-really-working-right-now strategy of making buzz across the Atlantic translate to Stateside success? Perhaps Rick Rubin’s parting edict as he left Columbia Records (the band’s new label) was “just take your business cues from the plot of The Producers,” and people took it seriously.

Ditto, however, will probably be fine, thanks to the UK’s endless supply of TV shows for people who were famous in the recent past. So who wants to start the countdown for her move into the Celebrity Big Brother UK house?

The Gossip Get Romantic on October Release [Spin] [Cover via Pitchfork]