Patterico's Pontifications

11/11/2007

How Not to Market a CD

Filed under: General,Music — Patterico @ 9:31 am



I went looking for the new Eagles album at the local Borders yesterday — the second time I had tried to buy it. I was informed it is a “Wal Mart exclusive.” Now that’s good marketing!

It’s at Walmart.com at this link.

I can’t imagine many of the songs are as good as the one you can see in this video, which can’t be embedded. It’s a laid-back Timothy B. Schmidt song with plenty of trademark Eagles harmonies. It doesn’t sound like 2007.

If you just aren’t the type to click on links, I’ll embed this video for you to give you your Sunday morning Eagles fix. It’s the Doolin’ Dalton/Desperado reprise, performed live, with some hokey video to go along with it.

20 Responses to “How Not to Market a CD”

  1. I personally liked “How Long”

    But my inability to buy it over iTunes has annoyed me greatly.

    Scott Jacobs (a1de9d)

  2. Yeah, but “How Long” is, if I’m not mistaken, a decades-old J.D. Souther song.

    Patterico (bad89b)

  3. (So you’d expect that to be good.)

    Patterico (bad89b)

  4. I’m not aware of the having put it on an album before, though I could be wrong…

    Is this just a “Greatest Hits from Other People” album??

    Scott Jacobs (a1de9d)

  5. “Wal Mart exclusive.” Now that’s good marketing!

    Totally. Wal Mart knows nothing about selling items in quantity.

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  6. What a stupid and pointless comment, designed to do nothing but fight. It’s stupid if it’s sarcasm and stupid if it’s not.

    Patterico (bad89b)

  7. Well, the juxtaposition of your headline and that statement is interesting… I got your point and initially agreed. Then, I thought about it and realized the point of marketing is to sell and move products, something I know more about than you. And it occurred to me Wal Mart knows more about that than either of us.

    But yeah, it’s not “cool”.

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  8. “Then, I thought about it and realized the point of marketing is to sell and move products, something I know more about than you.”

    I’m not going to argue with you about this. I will point out only that twice, I wanted to buy the CD but couldn’t find it because it wasn’t being sold at the store I was in.

    Patterico (9df092)

  9. Looks to be 75% Frey/Henley material.

    The Eagles, J.J. Cale and Jerry Jeff Walker once ruled my dorm.

    steve (add552)

  10. Patterico, that’s a separate point and a good one. That’s a supply chain issue, something Wal Mart is supposed to be good at and are obviously dropping the ball on here. For now.

    Still, you’re an early adopter. You’ll still end up with a copy and I’m sure many others will too.

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  11. Christoph, you are missing his point.

    He was in stores that weren’t Wal-marts wanting to buy the CD, and he couldn’t.

    I’d have bought it the day it came out had it been up on iTunes.

    I and a whole bunch of other people don’t go to Wal-mart all that often, and when we do go we aren’t thinking “buy music”.

    I usually only think about music I want to buy when I’m in a Boarders, a dedicated music store, or on iTunes. I am unlikely to buy something if I’m not thinking about it.

    Scott Jacobs (a1de9d)

  12. “Still, you’re an early adopter. You’ll still end up with a copy and I’m sure many others will too.”

    Oh, I already ordered my copy.

    But many won’t. People are fickle. Create unnecessary barriers and many won’t bother to surmount them.

    I have readers who can’t even be bothered to click the “more” button.

    These people are losing sales to every person who would buy the album if it were sold in the stores they frequent, but who won’t otherwise bother.

    Patterico (ea93ad)

  13. Okay, I missed the point.

    Nonetheless, Wal Mart provides a mass distribution system and oodles of national shelf space for people who aren’t otherwise huge Eagles fans, but are familiar with their brand. Plus, Eagles fans will still find it. Plus, a bit of scarcity or difficulty in finding it is not necessarily the worst thing for a marketer, to wit, this blog.

    Now we’re talking about the Eagles’ CD and Wal Mart. Which suits Wal Mart fine for sure and I bet the Eagles want you to mosey on down too.

    Anyway, I am headed out the door for our Remembrance Day ceremony (like your Veterans Day). Enjoy your CD when you finally buy it from Wal Mart!

    Christoph (92b8f7)

  14. Hey Patterico & Co., long time no comment.

    Granted, the L. Brent Bozell brigade ain’t the most objective source and I will continue to check it out further… but according to them, be thankful you’re saving your 12 bucks.

    qdpsteve (cd214a)

  15. Oops… naturally Patterico, I didn’t see that you already spent your money until I posted my comment.

    Oh well. Now I can hear from someone I really trust about how political the album actually is. Looking forward to your review. 🙂

    qdpsteve (cd214a)

  16. Why market it this way? My guess is that Walmart agreed to promote the CD by giving it good shelf positioning and in-store promotion, but only if it was marketed as a Walmart exclusive. Maybe the Eagles thought that was worth it, especially at this time of year when there is more pre-Christmas impulse buying. Perhaps the Eagles also believe their target audience is older and more prone to shop discount stores like Walmart.

    Just a guess.

    DRJ (5c60fb)

  17. That’s too bad they are staying with Wal-Mart. Guess I will get around to buying it sooner or later. I saw the Eagles in 1980 or 81. They put on a good show.

    As for the anti-war message I enjoy hearing the musicians viewpoint on these things if it is in their music.
    Two good examples of musicians who could really wrap a heck of a message in their CDs were Neil Young’s Rush to War and Springsteen’s Magic. Most of the message had more to do with the impact on friends and loved ones of the guy or gal next door who didn’t come back.

    voiceofreason (a52d5d)

  18. qdpsteve,

    Eh, I don’t care about that kind of thing too much anyway. I get annoyed if they put it in my face in concert (which they didn’t) but can live with some anti-war message if the music is good. I really enjoyed “V for Vendetta” (the movie), for example, even though it seemed to have some pretty blatant anti-Bush messages.

    Patterico (bad89b)

  19. It doesn’t hurt that I think the war was a mistake — but that’s another topic for another day.

    Patterico (bad89b)

  20. It is also available at Sam’s Club. All the ads on the radio that I heard prior to release, emphasized that it was available exclusively at WalMart. Pretty cheap too, for a double CD set, under $12. On Itunes @.99 each, it would be something like $17.

    The CD is put out without any indication of a major label behind it. No Sony or WB, just Eagles Band. So that could be part of the reason for the exclusive. Eagles only have to deal with one wholesaler, and keep more of the profits.

    Music is not bad at all. Seems like a good one to have a glass of wine, in front of the fireplace with. If only I had a fireplace.

    Loren (af2946)


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