In a new twist, the score soundtrack for the upcoming "Simpsons" movie, featuring Green Day's rendition of the show's famous theme, will be released simultaneously by three companies.
On July 24, three days before the film opens in U.S. theaters, Warner Bros. Records will put out the Green Day single (the band also appears in the film). Fox Music will make a digital score album available through its Web site and other outlets. And Extreme Music, usually known for its vast production music library, will release 25,000 pink doughnut cases to such specialty retailers as Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble.
For traditionalists, jewel-cased CDs also will be available. "
We really wanted to think outside of the box," Fox Music president
Robert Kraft says. "
The Simpsons Movie' was a perfect vehicle to try a new approach."
The idea largely was the brainchild of Kraft and composer Hans Zimmer, who scored the film. "Hans has a great relationship with Extreme Music," Kraft says. "They are known for their creative packaging. The model of handing over a soundtrack or score to a traditional label and then hoping it does well is changing. This is a coordinated marketing effort of behalf of Extreme, the studio and Warner Bros. Records."
Green Day recently recorded a cover of another famous tune, John Lennon's "Working Class Hero," for the upcoming Darfur benefit "Instant Karma." The song, which the group performed on Wednesday's "American Idol" finale, climbs 25-14 on this week's Billboard Modern Rock chart.
Credits for the info to Billboard.com.
