Responding to a Comment

Rhonda posted this comment, but I have had many people e-mail and PM wanting to ask something about this, so I thought I would bring it to the front page and expand.

Rhonda said...
I am very disheartened because a friend and I have been going to multiple Targets and Walmarts only to find NOT ONE Taylor Cd!!!! Target has stated it is a manufacturer problem....I'm more skeptical that something fishy is up. How can his sales do well when there are no cd's available???? Walmart told us you can only order thru Walmart online. Anyone know what the scoop is?
March 14, 2009 7:13 PM


I do not think there is anything fishy going on. Remember, this is Taylor's CD, on his own label, distributed by a company he is paying. We don't have the short bald man behind the curtain anymore.

From what I understand, part of the problem with Target is that a number of the stores were shipped CDs that did not contain the bonus track. Although this sounds really dumb, it happens more than you would think. When Clay Aiken's "A Thousand Different Ways" came out a couple of years ago, he had a K-Mart bonus track and the same thing happened there, and I remember a Walmart problem awhile back with another artist.

As for Walmart, it really doesn't matter whether the CD is purchased online or in the store, the sale counts the same for him. As long as it was purchased prior to midnight Sunday night (3/14), it counted in first week sales. It does NOT matter when you receive it, or when they actually ship it, the date your credit card is charged is the determining factor in when the sale counts.

As for placement in Walmart stores, we are VERY fortunate that Taylor is being featured in Walmart at all. Had they not been able to negotiate the bonus track deal with them, he would most likely never have had the chance to be in the brick and mortar Walmart stores. They have very stringent policies on the music they stock, and among other things, it is rare that you ever see an indie title in Walmart. Walmart routinely stocks the top albums off the Billboard 200, new releases from major labels and a select list of top sellers of catalog albums. So if they have chosen to limit the number of stores they are featuring it in, we are still way ahead of the game being there at all.

For anyone who is not aware, Walmart does not run it's own music departments. It leases the space out to one of the distributors (Handleman's or Anderson's) who actually orders, ships and services the department. They order the product, ship it from their warehouse, all returnable if not sold, and they send their employees (called rack jobbers) into the stores to inventory the boxes and stock the racks. If you have ever wondered why the music department at your Walmart looks even more disheveled than other departments, it is because their employees normally adopt a "hands off" policy.

And if you are ever in there on release day looking for a new title and the Walmart clerk tells you they don't have it, it very well may be in the back in a box, it is just that the rack jobber has not come in and inventoried and unpacked and stocked the shelves. You CAN get around this one!!
However, this is apparently not what happened with The Distance.

The thing to remember about the bonus track CDs is that the retailer involved orders a specific number up front, and that quantity is pressed. When they are gone, that is the end of them. Then, if the store wishes to restock, they do so with the regular CD. It is not common practice to ever re-press a bonus track CD.