Syracuse Ska Forum

Independent Labels weigh in on chain stores and Best Buy's $7.99 promotion



Ska fans have seen what can happen when the big boys muscle in on the underground, although a two-week promo is hardly an invasion.

Question I have to wonder about is, are they aiming to lure shoppers away from the independent shops, or do they want Best Buy shoppers to take a chance on something different? Do they have salespeople up to either task?

What do you think?

Funny thing is, I wouldn't consider most of those bands "out of the mainstream."

I mean those are some pretty big bands (compartively speaking to what we are used to), so it's not really that big of a risk.

Not to mention the fact that most of the CDs have been out for a while, so fans of those bands probably bought the CDs long ago from an indie retailer.

Yeah, 'cause they're taking such a huge risk on Hawthorne Heights.

I agree with the distributor quoted on several points.

Best Buy is built to move XBox games and DVDs and Top 40 stuff, not non-mainstream music. Units will sell to random curiosity and bargain-hunting indie lovers ('cause why would you pay $15 when you can pay $8 for that album reviewed on Pitchfork?)

These will not make the nut for Best Buy numbers. Anything that doesn't sell is liable to be returned, leaving the distributors and labels boned.

So the problem isn't with Best Buy. It's a big box retail outlet, and it's doing what is in its nature.

The problem is the people lower in the food chain, who are tired of eating ramen and sleeping on futons, and let visions of dollar signs blind them to the risk of dealing with a colossus that is inept at selling outside the mainstream.