Indie artists are presupposed, even conditioned to despise global juggernauts like Target or Wal-Mart. What could be worse for the mom-and-pop going headphone junkie than a chain of industrial
waste machines, carrying every
Michael McDonald record with little regard to up and coming underground talent? What if we want that
Yeasayer record? Believe it or not, everyone's
favorite place to buy a DVD player,
Best Buy, really is going to make our summer better. Because the times, they are a changin'. Introducing an incredible distribution deal: the Best
Buy initiative.
The world of physical sales is imploding, and the natural succubus is the speed, efficiency, and breadth of the internet. iTunes capitalized off of snagging the branding and consumer mindsets
that downloading needed to happen through them, and then used their clout to get everyone and their mom to post music. Even indie artists without mainstream distribution could be on iTunes.
Of course, this was sacrificing the small specialty shops (like
Other Music in NYC) that were relied on as taste-makers on the local scene, providing unavailable music to specific
consumers. Now Best Buy is attempting to assist with the smaller distribution channels for a fairly small fee.
Artists can apply
here for review by the crew at
J Distribution who act as A&R people, determining potential talent. Artists who are
chosen will be fully distributed by Best Buy to the appropriate locations according to their region or locality. Oh, and sales of CDs are immediately given to the artists. While this does seem
like another tier of mainstream distribution barrier (the artists must be approved through a combination of Myspace, Facebook and fanbase), it could get some low profile acts some serious help
with getting out there. -
joe puglisi
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