World of Weird Al Yankovic

I've been wondering lately about what would've happened if Al got to talk to Gaga directly or didn't have that miscommunication with her manager. We at least know he probably would've waited until after the tour and his scheduled vacation to even start writing, but would he have released the single this early if that were indeed the case? He was kind of forced into releasing it on YouTube, so he might not have released it until maybe two weeks before the album. I asked Jim about this on facebook and this was his response.

Jim Kimo West wrote:My guess is that he would have waited a while to put it out...

If I were Al I would have waited until the CD was released or right before anyway..

Yeah, I would think he would have waited too. He released the song, had this controversary, and then had to wait almost 2 months to get the video out.

He definitely hurt the potential sales of the album by releasing the single early. Let's just hope Al cashes in enough to feed his family.

All the money from this song is going to charity. Also, Al is rich.

He also didn't hurt album sales. If anything, he boosted them. Releasing lead singles early to is common practice to hype up a new album. The music industry is currently in a singles market. Just look at Lady Gaga. She released Born This Way months before her album came out last week.

Yes, but Al relies on humor for his sales. Two months after his song comes out, its not as funny as it was

He also relies on amazing hilarious visuals. Let's see what happens when the music video comes out.

I don't think he really hurt any potential sales in the long run.

He's got a big rabid, loyal audience who'll buy the album regardless of when a single comes out. And some people I know will buy multiple copies of the cd to begin with.

The only loss of potential sales are of people who aren't necessarily 'big' fans or haven't bought other things he's done, new fans. And most of them will just as likely only purchase songs off iTunes or just download it illegally anyway. I'm not saying Al's super rich, as any sales go a long way for him, but ultimately he'll sell decent copies and make most of his money on tour and with merchandise.

Agreed, the video is always where it counts for Al.

That being said, yeah, the video has the potential to go be huge on YouTube.

Will it count for album sales though? I know plenty of people that think Al's funny but won't buy anything he's done.