Beyoncé To Release A New Album, A Version Of Her Old Album

So Beyoncé is releasing a new album this month, but it is not quite what

the Internet guessed that it was.

On Tuesday morning, Beyoncé’s company, Parkwood Entertainment,

and her longtime record company, Columbia, announced that “Beyoncé

Platinum Edition Box Set,” a two-CD, two-DVD deluxe version of her latest

album, would come out on Nov. 24.

Besides the original, self-titled album — 14 songs, with a DVD

containing videos of each track — the new package contains a six-song CD

called “More” and a live DVD from her latest tour. The new songs on “More”

include “7/11” and “Ring Off,” plus remixes featuring Nicki Minaj, Jay Z,

Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Mr. Vegas.

The original release of “Beyoncé” came without notice late one night in

December 2013, when the full “visual album” — including full videos for

each track — appeared on iTunes, announced only by Beyoncé herself with a

notice on Instagram saying, “Surprise!” The album, and its unusual method

of release, instantly became a sensation among fans and a landmark of

stealth marketing that was later examined in a case study by the Harvard

Business School.

The news of Beyoncé’s repackaged release may be slightly disappointing

to fans, after rumors of an entirely new album swept the Internet over the

weekend. It began on Saturday when an image

appeared on Twitter purporting to be a “release confirmation” from

Parkwood and Columbia for “Beyoncé – Self Titled – Volume 2,” with 11

entirely new songs including new tracks with Rihanna and Justin

Timberlake.

The document appeared plausible enough, except for the fact that its

physical edition was scheduled for “Monday, November 25,” when Nov. 25 is

actually a Tuesday. Columbia and Parkwood stayed mum, neither

confirming nor denying the rumor, and fans’ excitement was stoked further

when they began to notice listings on Amazon sites around the world for a

four-disc set coming on Nov. 24.

The original edition of “Beyoncé” has sold nearly 2.1 million copies in

the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, making it one of the

biggest sellers of the last year.

[NYT]