Haim, Dua Lipa and Sufjan Stevens are among the artists to change their album release plans in the face of coronavirus.
The music world has been hugely affected by the global pandemic, with high-profile gigs cancelled the world over and major festivals such as Glastonbury and Coachella forced into postponement.
Now, the album release cycle has begun to adapt to the COVID-19 outbreak, with some albums delayed and others brought forward.
In an emotional Instagram Live video, pop sensation Dua Lipa announced her upcoming album Future Nostalgia would be released a week early on March 27, instead of April 3.
“I’ve been a little bit conflicted about whether it’s the right thing to do during this time because lots of people are suffering,” Lipa said. “I’m not sure if I’m even doing the right thing, but I think the thing we need the most at the moment is music, and we need joy and we need to be trying to see the light.”
She added: “I hope it makes you smile and I hope it makes you dance and I hope I make you proud”.
It is not clear whether the decision was prompted after the album leaked in full online over the weekend.
American sisters Haim were due to release their third album, Women in Music Pt III, on April 24 but said in a statement that it would now not see the light of day until “later this summer”.
“This wasn’t an easy decision for us at all,” the statement continued. “We had so many amazing things planned — trips to Europe and Australia as well as tour where we would all dance and sing together. But, the health and safety of our fans, crew and team is our #1 concern.”
The band did offer fans some good news, though, confirming that they would still “be dropping some new tunes” in the interim.
Elsewhere, indie-folk musician Sufjan Stevens has dropped his new instrumental album Aporia earlier than expected. Due to arrive on March 27, the release — which was a collaboration alongside his stepfather Lowell Bram — is streaming now.
The duo said they would donate 50 per cent of proceeds from the sale of the album to “food-focused COVID-19 charities” No Kid Hungry and Partners in Health.
