Monday, February 1, 2010

WALMART OF LABELS

So i meant to comment on this before when i first heard about it so finally had the time to share my thoughts.

IMPORTANT RECORDS SALE http://importantrecords.com/releases/44_66_sale.html
44/44 & 66/66 The Important Records 2009 Holiday Sale44 cds for $44 66 cds for $66shipping for either is:$7 in the USA via media rate (priority or UPS is available)$16 Canada/Mexico via airmail$42 overseas via flat rate global priority w/ tracking+ all cds will have a small drill hole in their barcode+ double cds count as 2

From a consumer prospective this is an absurd deal no doubt, their are like 300 or some odd releases on Important with lots being things i own currently, things I'd like to own, or things I would have liked to have released on my own label (minus the generic packages and shitty horrible ugly inner CD slipcase info commercials). But lots of great audio content, and 66 CD's is a shit load of music for that price. From a label perspective i suppose its a way to recoup some cash flow that is tied up potentially in junk stock that you have sitting around. A good way to jump start some sales and i suppose much better to get things out of the basement and warehouse and out to people who will listen to the stuff.. Hell that's the purpose of doing a label of love after all isn't it, even with selling the releases at a loss. But if i was a distro from either overseas or in the US i'd be mad as hell. What if i was Aquarius records for example. How the hell am i going to sell any Important record back catalog CD's against that deal he's running? I'd also be annoyed if i was the guy that two weeks prior i bought 3 or 4 titles from the site at regular price. I'd be feeling pretty cheated right about now, knowing that i could have had all the same discs for $1 each if i had waited. I'm reading way too much into this but does feel like some walmart moving into some small town dumping prices which forces the close outs of all the local stores on the main drag. http://www.newrules.org/retail/news/walmart-charged-predatory-pricing
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/24/business/wal-mart-on-trial-on-predatory-pricing-charges.html?pagewanted=1
I suppose i shouldn't care?? but i was basically glad i wasn't trying to release new shit the same month against that sale. I mean does the guy who bought 66CD's in one shot really need to buy anything else for the next 2-3 months???

2 comments:

  1. At least that sale didn't last too long (a week or so?)....considering how prolific they are, there's no doubt they've got some unmoved stock kicking around that they needed to recoup the cost. I personally picked up $44 of 'em, some I really wanted, others were to just check things out that I may or may not like. I can see how distributors would have been pissed though. And hell, if you'd put some new releases out that same month, I still would have ordered them!

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  2. yeah was a crazy deal... i see why John ran the sale to clear up some shelves and i bet he blew out lots and lots of stock

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