The soon-to-be-merged America Online and Time Warner empires are lining up behind the forthcoming Matchbox Twenty [ tickets ] album, which is scheduled to be released on May 23 on the Warner-owned Atlantic Records label. Meanwhile, the band has scheduled a month-long club tour that will open shortly before the album--titled “Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty”--hits stores.

During the marketing blitz, touted in a press release issued jointly on Tuesday (5/9) by AOL and Atlantic, a digital imaging crew will accompany the band on the road to provide photos and video clips that will be posted on the band’s AOL content area. The new CD will contain the software needed to sign up AOL's online service as well as software related to the AOL-owned Winamp and Spinner websites. Matchbox Twenty is currently AOL’s “Artist of the Month,” and the online service now contains music previews, message boards, video clips, tour news, and other features related to the band.

“Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty,” the band’s sophomore release, was produced by Matt Serletic, who also produced the band's 10-million-selling debut. (The band was previously known as Matchbox 20.) Matchbox Twenty frontman and principal songwriter Rob Thomas has gained an even higher profile since the success of the band’s debut album, thanks to his appearance on the Grammy-winning Santana single “Smooth.”