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Target to distribute exclusive series of music
02/01/2007 5:43 PM, Reuters
Sue Zeidler
Target Corp on Thursday said it
will release exclusive CDs by artists like Kenny Loggins and
David Cassidy in the latest example of stars "of a certain age"
bypassing music labels to partner directly with retailers.
Target on Thursday said it partnered with an independent
start-up music label, 180 Music, to release 15 adult
contemporary CDs in all 1,449 stores on February 25 for $9.99
each. Similar releases are set to follow, according to 180
Music founder and chief executive officer Jim Brandmeier.
Other store operators like Starbucks Corp have made a
splash in the music business by releasing exclusive content
under its Hear Music venture, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
recently reached exclusive distribution deals with music icons
like The Eagles and Garth Brooks.
Rock duo Hall & Oates also recently moved to release an
independently-produced holiday CD exclusive to music retailer
Trans World Entertainment Corp, which controls chains like Sam
Goody and Strawberries Music.
"A lot of legendary adult artists have been ignored and the
adult audience has been ignored as well, so we're going to put
those two things together for artists to express themselves,"
Brandmeier said, adding that Target plans only to release the
series in physical form and not make it available digitally.
Included in the first 15 CDs to be released at Target are
new albums by Loggins and Cassidy as well as a Phil
Ramone-produced CD with new songs by legends like Carole King,
Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Richard Marx and others.
"Through 180 Music we are offering our guests Target
exclusive one-of-a-kind albums that are sure to have something
for everyone," said Darrell Tucker, vice president, Target.
Many of the major record labels have been struggling with
an industrywide CD sales decline, forcing them to contract and
slash many jobs in marketing and promotion. Various artists
have also been dropped by labels as their sales have slowed to
where the labels can no longer support them profitably.
While the growth of digital music sales on services like
Apple Inc's iTunes has been the one industry bright spot, it
still is not enough to offset the drop in physical CD sales.
What's more, the Internet in certain ways has shifted the focus
away from major labels, by making it easier for artists to sell
directly to their fans without any middlemen.
For example, various artists have broken records on social
networking sites like News Corp's MySpace.com.
Going with an independent label or a nontraditional
distribution deal with a retailer can sometimes be more
lucrative for an artist than a record deal, offering a chance
to reap a bigger share of record sales than the standard $1 to
$2 per album, industry experts said.
Brandmeier of 180 would not disclose terms of the artist
deals, but said they were more flexible than standard label
deals, which often require multiple album commitments.
"Artists get more freedom. It's a change from the regular
business model. We don't want to tie people down," he said.
To be sure, many of the major labels are reexamining the
way they do business to address changes in the marketplace,
their relationship with artists and brands and retailers.
"For our survival and success, we need to get familiar with
all the ancillary revenue streams," said David Ring, senior
vice president business affairs and development for Vivendi's
Universal Music Group, the No. 1 music company.
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