Tweet
From Adage.com
It's a long story... so I've only reprinted parts of it. The original can be found at:
Granted, it's not like Garth Brooks was dragged kicking an screaming into this arrangement... it is a good deal for both him and Walmart... but if I was a Garth Brooks fan (I'm not) I would be very pissed if I had to go to Walmart to buy his music.
It's a long story... so I've only reprinted parts of it. The original can be found at:
RETAILERS SCRAMBLE FOR EXCLUSIVE MUSIC RIGHTS
Wal-Mart's Garth Brooks Deal Raises Interest and Hackles
September 19, 2005
By Mya Frazier
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Look what Starbucks started.
A year after the coffee company helped the Ray Charles album Genius Loves Company go platinum and eventually win a Grammy, everyone from retailers to restaurant chains are seriously eyeing the business of exclusively aligning themselves with music acts and artists.
But when Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, announced it would serve as the exclusive seller of country singer Garth Brooks’ albums, everyone started listening.
For a merchandiser, an alignment with an artist might be too good to pass up.
Existing fan base
Beyond just upping a company’s cool factor among consumers, an exclusive deal with a popular artist could land them an existing fan base of loyal customers who would be forced to shop at a specific retailer, potentially boosting sales in non-music merchandise as a result. The exclusive release of a long-awaited album could have a buzz-creating impact, not only in making a select group of people feel cool, but the transfer of that buzz onto the medium, be it a bricks-and-mortar or online store.
Will fans feel manipulated?
However, industry observers say striking exclusive deals might not be right for everyone. Artists may be willing to sell out, but fans may end up feeling manipulated by marketing ploys, which may not end up serving the artist in the long run.
Besides railing against these deals as anti-competitive and contributing to rising CD prices, Kenneth DeGraff, a policy analyst at Consumers Union, decries the deals as limiting to artists and an insult to fans.
“That’s not in anyone’s best interest,” said Clark Benson, CEO and founder of Almighty Institute of Music Retail, which maintains a database of every record store in America, a database subscribed to by 130 record labels. “Artists will still want their music to be available to the public. After all, in Los Angeles there isn’t a Wal-Mart and that’s one of the country’s biggest markets.”
But Mr. Benson added that he considers the Garth Brooks deal with Wal-Mart an aberration and not a model.
'Could piss off other retailers'
“You won’t find other situations like Garth Brooks, where a huge, or once huge artist makes an entire catalog exclusive to a retailer,” he said. “This happened because the Wal-Mart audience is so closely aligned with Brooks’ fan base. Exclusives will grow, but not outrageously. This is something that could really piss off other retailers. Retailers like there to be a level playing field.”
Wal-Mart's Garth Brooks Deal Raises Interest and Hackles
September 19, 2005
By Mya Frazier
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Look what Starbucks started.
A year after the coffee company helped the Ray Charles album Genius Loves Company go platinum and eventually win a Grammy, everyone from retailers to restaurant chains are seriously eyeing the business of exclusively aligning themselves with music acts and artists.
But when Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, announced it would serve as the exclusive seller of country singer Garth Brooks’ albums, everyone started listening.
For a merchandiser, an alignment with an artist might be too good to pass up.
Existing fan base
Beyond just upping a company’s cool factor among consumers, an exclusive deal with a popular artist could land them an existing fan base of loyal customers who would be forced to shop at a specific retailer, potentially boosting sales in non-music merchandise as a result. The exclusive release of a long-awaited album could have a buzz-creating impact, not only in making a select group of people feel cool, but the transfer of that buzz onto the medium, be it a bricks-and-mortar or online store.
Will fans feel manipulated?
However, industry observers say striking exclusive deals might not be right for everyone. Artists may be willing to sell out, but fans may end up feeling manipulated by marketing ploys, which may not end up serving the artist in the long run.
Besides railing against these deals as anti-competitive and contributing to rising CD prices, Kenneth DeGraff, a policy analyst at Consumers Union, decries the deals as limiting to artists and an insult to fans.
“That’s not in anyone’s best interest,” said Clark Benson, CEO and founder of Almighty Institute of Music Retail, which maintains a database of every record store in America, a database subscribed to by 130 record labels. “Artists will still want their music to be available to the public. After all, in Los Angeles there isn’t a Wal-Mart and that’s one of the country’s biggest markets.”
But Mr. Benson added that he considers the Garth Brooks deal with Wal-Mart an aberration and not a model.
'Could piss off other retailers'
“You won’t find other situations like Garth Brooks, where a huge, or once huge artist makes an entire catalog exclusive to a retailer,” he said. “This happened because the Wal-Mart audience is so closely aligned with Brooks’ fan base. Exclusives will grow, but not outrageously. This is something that could really piss off other retailers. Retailers like there to be a level playing field.”
You'll make it to "parlour pinko" yet!!!
Comment