Quantcast
You can bet that the indies will be lining up at Best Buy to purchase the deluxe version for probably less than they would pay a one-stop in order to have it in their stores.

RERAP WATCHES THE REACTION TO WATCH THE THRONE

The Lines Have Been Drawn Between the Haves (iTunes, Best Buy) and the Have-Nots (Everybody Else) Resulting From Controversial Strategy
By Mark Pearson

Jay Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne is up for sale exclusively at iTunes, and the well documented war of words over the release strategy has not diminished whatsoever. Def Jam gave iTunes a four-day exclusive window, and the hue and cry from physical retailers has been deafening. Who can blame them? The bad news for brick & mortar is that this model is most likely going to be replicated by a host of other high-profile acts looking to blunt the ill effects of records leaking on the Internet before release date. Like it or not—and we haven’t spoken to anyone on the physical side of the business who isn’t up in arms—the fact that the album didn’t go up on Pirate Bay until a half hour after it was available for legal downloads on iTunes has many from the label and distribution community calling it a success. UMG kept the physical CD in the manufacturing plant until Monday morning, when they started shipping to retail distribution centers nationwide for a Tuesday delivery and drop shipping to stores by Thursday. Leaks used to come directly from the manufacturing plants, but that is less the case these days as companies have a better handle on clamping down on that particular portal. When the Lady Gaga record that hit in May was leaked, it was traced directly to a Target security guard who lifted a CD from the loading docks. It took some real forensic investigating to trace the ISP back to the offender, but it highlighted just how vulnerable the record industry is to leaks once the CD leaves the plant. The indies are beside themselves, not only because of the four-day lead time for iTunes, but also because of the two-week window on the deluxe that Best Buy is being given. It’s a hand-assembled piece that the label insists it didn’t have time to manufacture for a national rollout. That it’s not optimum is putting it mildly, but you can bet that the indies will be lining up at BB to purchase it for probably less than they would pay a one-stop in order to have it in their stores. Nonetheless, it has everyone but BB seeing red. Insiders tell us that Trans World went as far as to retaliate by putting orders for Fontana product on hold for a few days last week before tempers cooled on Friday. It will be interesting to see how many “street date” violations will be happening this week. One can only think that a blind eye will be cast on any and all product that hits the shelves before Friday, but that remains to be seen. The paradigm may suck, and suck it does, for physical retailers. But we haven’t heard the last of this, and probably won’t for some time.

NEAR TRUTHS: SPRING BLOOMS
Here come the big guns. (3/28a)
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/28a)
CITY OF HOPE TAPS MARCIANO FOR TOP HONOR
This year's philanthropic model (3/28a)
TRUST IN THE TOP 20
Hip-hop is no longer hibernating. (3/28a)
UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS
Sir Lucian and Daniel are in harmony. (3/28a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
 Email

 First Name

 Last Name

 Company

 Country
CAPTCHA code
Captcha: (type the characters above)