Jim Mitchell
12/31/2008 10:32:00 PM
<querosuave.beck@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3efad781-bd8d-4a86-a259-44146dc91226@r24g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
On Dec 31, 1:09 pm, "Jim Mitchell" <jnjmitchREM...@swbell.net> wrote:
> And I still have a hard time buying the argument that he's somehow
> reaching
> a "different audience" this way- as if there's a true dichotomy between
> those who shop exclusively at Wal-Mart, and the rest of us music consumers
> in the US. Except in extremely rural communities, where is that a reality?
> Sure they're a huge retailer with the capability of giving a lot of
> publicity to an established singer with an otherwise niche audience.
>I think it's real. I lived in Martin, TN, population 10,000 or so,
>very rural vibe. Lots of peeps there only shop at Walmart, and that's
>where they buy virtually everything. There's a local indie record
>store, The Next Door (think black light posters, there's still a room
>of them in the back) that sells hip-hop, piercings, and Zeppelin cds
>and t-shirts, some alt-rock titles, etc. (I actually bought BitheUSA
>on vinyl there, day of release come to think of it.) But 98% of people
>in the area buy their cds at Wal-Mart. Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney,
>Alabama, Clapton, Aerosmith, AC/DC, all sell like hotcakes. It's all
>very middle of the road --local radio stations playlists feel like a
>time machine, etc.-- and part of it is what's readily available and
>advertised at Wal-Mart. It's basically the only game in town to a lot
>of people, who simply don't shop, unless maybe it's 60 miles to
>Jackson for a new suit, or for a new car.
I'm sure there are some very rural communities where Wal-Mart is the main or
only retailer in town. But that still doesn't convince me that this is the
ONLY way that people there could have Bruce Springsteen marketed to them.
Don't they have internet access? Don't they see TV commercials or hear them
on the radio? Assuming it's so important for Bruce to reach this very
specific demographic, it seems to me that doing it through a Wal-Mart
exclusive is simply the most financially lucrative for him and/or his label.
I just can't see anything artistically altruistic about any of it.