September 04, 2009

By By Keith Caulfield, L.A.

Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3" becomes the latest superstar album release to shuffle its release date, according to date changes on Amazon.com, Rhapsody.com and WEA's distribution Web site.

The Roc Nation set, originally scheduled for release on Sept. 11, has been pushed forward to Sept. 8. The title was intended to drop on Sept. 11, on the eighth anniversary of the first "Blueprint's" release.

Representatives for Jay-Z and Roc Nation could not be reached for comment at deadline.

Release dates are seemingly becoming more fluid as the music industry marches towards the all-important holiday shopping season. Just last week saw Miley Cyrus' Wal-Mart exclusive EP "The Time Of Our Lives" scoot forward from an Aug. 31 release to Aug. 28. Whitney Houston's comeback album "I Look To You" jumped one day from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31 -- which ultimately triggered a near industry-wide shift for all Sept. 1 albums to Aug. 31.

Mariah Carey's upcoming "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" switched street dates twice, finally settling on a Sept. 29 premiere. And less than two weeks ago, on Aug. 25, it was announced by Reprise Records that Michael Buble's "Crazy Love" set would drop on Oct. 13. But then just four days later, Reprise announced that due to "unprecedented demand," the album was pushed forward four days to a Oct. 9 bow.

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