Walmart records, the new Desperadoes

Opinion Journal:

One of the most popular rock bands of all time has finally managed to offend--not for its songs, but for how it sells them. There's a lesson here in technology, new business models, and hidebound "progressives."

The first new album from the Eagles in over a decade, "Long Road Out of Eden," has already sold more than a million copies, hitting Billboard's #1 in its first week. It's the kind of blockbuster that used to pay Christmas bonuses at the big record companies, only this album wasn't produced by a big record company. The Eagles released it themselves and are selling it exclusively through Wal-Mart.

This isn't going down well in certain elite precincts. Music blogs accused the group of selling out, while a review in Rolling Stone opined that there is an "inevitable contradiction in buying a record that attacks corporate greed . . . from a superchain with a bleak record on employee rights and health care." A piece in the Boston Herald noted that "The deal will make the Eagles richer. But it could cost them cool points (if the aging rockers have any left)."

So how can Don Henley, an environmentalist who wrote a song mocking Ronald Reagan, embrace a middle-American retail colossus out of favor with enlightened opinion? How can the #1 album not be available in New York City, where politicians have blocked Wal-Mart from opening even a single store? "You would have thought we did a deal with the devil," Mr. Henley says. "People have been crying out for a new paradigm. So we did something new."

That something turns out to be good business. In cutting out the record company, the band cut itself in for a bigger share of the per-album profits. While it might have expected fewer sales from restricted availability, that doesn't seem to be happening. Wal-Mart's retail price of under $12 for the two-disc album has allowed smaller retailers to stock up on the album at Wal-Mart and then resell them with a markup.

The Eagles aren't the first to try new ways to sell a record. Garth Brooks signed an exclusive deal in 2005 with Wal-Mart and has sold millions of records. Beyonce has released an exclusive DVD through the store. Joni Mitchell and Paul McCartney are selling their music through Starbucks. Billy Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray, is trying to establish her own music career by doing an exclusive with Target.

...

I have always enjoyed the music of the Eagles even if they are liberals. Their deal with Wal-Mart demonstrates that liberalism has not made them stupid as it has some folks. It has turned into a good deal for the band and for Wal-Mart, but also for consumers. What the new paradigm demonstrates is that the record company distribution system no longer adds significant value to the process. Apple's iTunes has also demonstrated this new paradigm.

While the article says that the record is not available in New York, because of the city's refusal to allow Wal-Mart to build stores there, New Yorkers can still buy the album from Wal-Mart's online operation. While the band remains, Busy Being Fabulous, liberals continue to have a Frail Grasp On The Big Picture.