The album was released on February 15, 2011, lead singer Conor Oberst's 31st birthday, by Saddle Creek Records.

[1] Prior to its official release, the album was available to stream online in its entirety, as part of NPR's "First Listen" series.

[2] The album features guest artists Andy LeMaster of Now It's Overhead, Matt Maginn of Cursive, Carla Azar of Autolux, Clark Baechle of The Faint, Shane Aspegren of The Berg Sans Nipple, Laura Burhenn of The Mynabirds, and Denny Brewer of Refried Ice Cream.

The design was created using cut paper, similar to the cover for Every Day and Every Night, the first Bright Eyes release Nipper had worked on.

No Ripcord gave the album a 6 out of 10 and commented, "There's not a lot fundamentally wrong with The People's Key; it's just that we know Bright Eyes can do better.