(image from smashingpumpkins.com)

For Smashing Pumpkins fans: This is big.

On 9-15-2009, recording began for a very intriguing album release set forth by the band. The new album will be titled “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope” and features 44 songs. Yes, 44.

All of the songs will be free. As they stated on http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/, all of the songs will “be free of charge with no strings attached.” They continue by stating you won’t have to give an email address, sign up for anything, etc.

Each song of the album will be released 1 at a time, until all 44 are released. Additionally, for the biggest SP fan, there will be collector editions of the album available upon it’s completion. They will be divided into 4 separate mini ‘box sets.’

The concept of the album is based on the journey in life according to the Tarot.

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Some thoughts:

Overall, it’s a really cool concept with some distinct business possibilities. Artists are experimenting with various business models; at this point it’s like throwing something against the wall and seeing what sticks. That’s a tactic that A&R from labels have been accused of lately…. hmmmm.

It will be interesting to see how Billy finalizes the monetization of the release.

-AR