Billboard reports that AC/DC will going exclusive with Wal-Mart.
AC/DC’s next studio album will be exclusively sold at Wal-Mart stores in the United States, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The as-yet-untitled Columbia album, which, as previously reported, was produced by Brendan O’Brien, is expected in the fall.
AC/DC becomes the latest veteran act to pact exclusively with the retail giant, following Garth Brooks, the Eagles and Journey. The Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden,” released last summer, has been an enormous success, having sold more than 2.98 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
I know several folks that bought the Eagles’ record at Wal-Mart. Everyone I talked to said that the budget price, and the fact that it was a double disc were factors in their purchase. They felt that they would be getting their money’s worth. Wal-Mart did a good job placing it in several locations within the store, making it convenient. Also, the Eagles had not released anything for several generations. AC/DC hasn’t had product out since 2000’s “Stiff Upper Lip” and that’s still a long wait if you are a fan.
Can AC/DC match the Eagles/Wal-Mart success in these tough times? If the Eagles’ double disc sold for $11.88 (seemed like they had it even lower at the local store initially), what’s the price going to be for the AC/DC disc?
Wal-Mart sold a bunch of Eagles’ CDs and there wasn’t a big radio hit. “How Long” and “Busy Being Fabulous” both got the big push but didn’t sustain.
If AC/DC has the right song, they could have a radio hit. I think that the public is ready for a good rock song. In lieu of Mutt Lange, I think Brendan O’Brien might be a good fit. AC/DC is a guitar band and O’Brien has a knack for ballsy guitar sounds. It’s got to be the right song though. It’s got to be the right song to be the right track. Hyping a good track isn’t good enough anymore, it has to be a great track.
Wal-Mart reaches the people that used to buy music and don’t anymore. A lot of people that I know, bought the Eagles record, listened to it a couple of times, and put it away. I didn’t hear people going around and saying; “You got to get this Eagles album”. There was hype but not the buzz. And, they still sold 3 million.
So, can AC/DC match the Eagles/Wal-Mart success in these tough times? They can eclipse it if it’s an honest, by God, Rock and Roll record with great songs. If it’s not, if it’s just pretty good then, it will be like a big budget movie that draws big for one weekend and then the word gets around.
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Tags: ac dc, Brendan O'Brien, Guitar, Music, Mutt Lange, Rock, rock and roll, The Eagles, Wal-Mart
Ovidiu - GuitarFlame.com wrote,
It’s very interesting how bands are continuously looking for new ways to sell. It’s difficult situation, because until now, record companies had a pattern that they followed for a long time. Now seems to me that they look for new patterns for the years to come but there haven’t found one yet,only trials and experiment. Nobody can say that selling records through mega stores chains will be the solution for the years to come, isn’t it? But it may be a good answer for a short term release. Until they will release the next album in a few years, the market may still evolve.
Ovidiu - GuitarFlame.com’s last blog post..Again about Variax guitars, this time live from my city
Link | June 9th, 2008 at 3:34 am
From the Audience wrote,
Let’s play Jeopardy — two suggestions, what is the question:
1) blu-ray… [the name of a next-generation optical disc format that offers more than five times the storage capacity..]
2) follow porn industry distribution… [porn volumes still out-ranks all other internet business.. how will porn utilize blu ray in its next cycle of distribution?]
3) ?
From the Audience’s last blog post..Vacationing Like the Kennedy’s: after a Hard Day’s Night — Part Seven
Link | June 9th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Pribek wrote,
Lefsetz is against it…
http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2008/06/09/1250/
Link | June 9th, 2008 at 9:55 pm