Eminem, Destiny's Child Releases To Arrive Early

Two big fall music releases will be arriving early. Eminem's Encore and Destiny's Child's Destiny Fulfilled have had the release dates for their new CDs bumped, due to some combination of "overwhelming demand", "leaks to internet" and "CD piracy". Destiny Fulfilled had originally been scheduled for release on Tuesday, Nov. 16, but will now hit the stores one day earlier, on November 15th. The original release date for Encore was also November 16, but the CD will now be available on Friday, November 12.

An interesting pattern is developing here. The record companies are pencilling in tentative release dates for their products, but can't control every single CD. They must keep an eye on the black market music distribution channels (internet MP3 sharing and counterfeiters, for example) and be ready to release their products early if necessary.

In related news, U2 haven't made plans to bump the release date of their newest release, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, despite the fact that mp3 copies of it have hit internet file-sharing networks. The CD is due for release in America on November 23rd.