RCA’s Dave Matthews Band may fly under the media radar, but their fans will undoubtedly turn out in force for the group’s new album, Busted Stuff, which hits retail July 16.

It’s DMB’s first studio effort since February 2001’s Everyday, which nabbed 730k in first-week sales and has gone on to sell more than 3.6m OTC domestically. None of the band’s previous studio albums has ever sold less than 3.4 million.

The new album features 11 new songs, nine of which first appeared on DMB’s celebrated unreleased The Summer So Far or—as it’s come to be known by the legions of fans who have downloaded it—The Lillywhite Sessions. That record, produced by Steve Lillywhite, was deemed too dark and not radio-friendly enough to release and was scrapped by the band, which re-entered the studio with Glen Ballard to record the more song-oriented Everyday. Fans subsequently discovered the unreleased material on the Internet, which resulted in a fierce debate on the relative merits of both projects. In a concession to piracy concerns, the new release will include a bonus DVD with live performances and a 5.1 audio mix of the song "Bartender," as well as exclusive Net access to unreleased material, video footage, performances and interviews.

The first single, "Where Are You Going," is also featured on the RCA Records soundtrack for the Adam Sandler/Winona Ryder comedy Mr. Deeds, which hit retail last Tuesday (6/11). The label is currently heating it up at PoMo, Adult Post Modern and Hot AC in anticipation of a launch at Top 40 coinciding with the album release date. The video is on at both MTV and VH1.

The band’s longtime label rep, RCA Sr. VP A&R/Artist Development Bruce Flohr, admits there’s been "a lot of intrigue and controversy" about the Lillywhite tracks and is hoping to take advantage of that interest. "The band had a chance to live with these songs, play them live and went in with a newfound confidence in the material," he says about the album, which was produced by Steve Harris, who engineered the Lillywhite sessions. "Many people feel it’s the best of both worlds, combining the focus of Everyday along with the atmosphere and musicianship the band’s come to be known for." Future singles include "Grace Is Gone" and "Grey Street."

The first leg of the group’s tour ended at New York’s Madison Square Garden on May 29, while the second phase, launching July 5 in West Palm Beach, FL, will take the band through mid-September, culminating at the Gorge in Seattle.

Some of the marketing initiatives include:

* TV appearances on Jay Leno (5/17) Carson Daly (7/12) and a performance with Dixie Chicks for CMT’s Crossroads (7/10). A David Letterman appearance is being scheduled.

* A Rolling Stone cover story to coincide with release date.

* A campaign to fight global warming with Ben & Jerry’s Saveourenvironment.org and Music Matters, featuring the creation of a new ice cream flavor, One Sweet Whirled.