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"The Throne have been criticised by independent record stores over their debut album&amp;#039;s release strategy. The hip-hop pairing - consisting of Jay-Z and Kanye West - are to release their collaborative LP Watch The Throne to digital stores four days earlier than record stores. The album will be available on iTunes on August 8, while retail giant Best Buy will also have exclusive rights to sell the deluxe version of the album for the first 10 days. The team behind Record Store Day have since written a letter to the rappers, which has been signed by independent record stores across the US, reports Pitchfork. &amp;quot;We are responding to the bad news that your new album will not be available to independent record stores until after iTunes gets a window of exclusivity,&amp;quot; the letter reads. &amp;quot;We also learned that the deluxe version (which is what the true music fans who shop our stores will want by an overwhelming majority) will only be available at Best Buy exclusively for a period of time.  &amp;quot;We believe this is a short-sighted strategy, and that your decisions will be doing great damage to over 1,700 independent record stores - stores that have supported you and your music for years.&amp;quot; The letter concluded: &amp;quot;As representatives of the independent record store music community, we are asking you to allow record stores and music fans equal access to your new album.&amp;quot; Watch The Throne will be released on August 8 digitally and August 12 physically. &amp;gt; Jay-Z, Kanye West release &amp;#039;Watch The Throne&amp;#039; documentary: Video &amp;gt; Jay-Z previews &amp;#039;Watch The Throne&amp;#039; Kanye West album in New York Listen to The Throne&amp;#039;s new track &amp;#039;Otis&amp;#039; below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a332288/jay-z-kanye-west-criticised-over-watch-the-throne-release-strategy/>