Last month, country-rock rule-breaker Sturgill Simpson announced plans for Mutiny After Midnight, his second album under his Johnny Blue Skies alter-ego. (This one is credited to Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds.) Originally, Mutiny After Midnight was supposed to be only available on physical editions. Before the release, however, Simpson went ahead and posted the entire thing on YouTube, and we reviewed it. (He has since taken the original video down.) Mutiny After Midnight is officially out today, and Simpson has some things to say about the release.
In a message posted on his Instagram story, Sturgill Simpson takes a bit of a victory lap over the release of Mutiny After Midnight:
I can assure you, if nothing else, there are meetings taking place right now throughout the music industry amongst those who pray to formula currently discussing and analyzing the fact that without interviews, tv performances, singles, music videos, or an ounce of "marketing" outside of a steady stream of stupid ass memes, we have already had what those who follow charts refer to as the biggest "first week" of any album in my career... and "first week" technically just started today.
Simpson also says a few things about his release strategy, claiming, "I've always really wanted to leak my own record..." He also says that the plan was "a physical only release for at least the first 4-6 weeks to support and show solidarity with independent record shops and to promote an increasingly bygone physical and tangible connection between music and music fans." But he says the plans changed because of "hiccups (and some opportunists)."
Simpson says that "at some point" the album will "probably" be on iTunes and on streaming services "with bonus tracks." For now, though, he encourages you to buy the album or to stream it illegally. The most important part, at least to him, is that you leave the house: "You might even get laid." Here's his full message:
