Rihanna’s team has been mobilized, and we’re being told by reliable sources that the details of the release of her long-awaited eighth album have been nailed down. According to these sources, the album will drop on Nov. 6, a week in front of the expected chart duel between Justin Bieber and One Direction, and two weeks before Adele, thus assuring her of a #1 debut. Interestingly, this will be the fifth straight time Rihanna has released an album in November.
ANTI will be the first album under her new deal and the first on Roc Nation, which also serves as her management company. It’s highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for the same company serving as a major artist’s management and record label. This release provides Jay Z with an opportunity to re-establish himself as a mastermind; in the wake of Tidal, he can't afford another bad look.
That said, this is ultimately Rihanna’s game to win. As for the details of the rollout, whether ANTI will appear without warning or be placed in preorder and preceded by a single remains to be seen, but RiRi does what RiRi wants, so the rollout—if there is one—will proceed on her terms.
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The album will be released on her own Westbury Road through Roc Nation, with Def Jam handling marketing and promotion.
