And so it begins...

Hubby and I were wondering just the other night if it would be possible for a music retailer to buy copies of the new Eagles album from Wal-Mart and then sell them in their own store:

But then we heard whispers that people were finding the new “exclusive” album at small mom-and-pop record stores and, remarkably, big chains like Virgin Megastore. We investigated these claims and discovered that the CDs are indeed being sold outside of Wal-Mart. Not only that, it didn’t take speakeasy tactics to secure a copy; some stores were boasting the album by the dozen in front display cases, where new releases are usually showcased.

Full story from Billboard.

Eagles top Billboard charts

Normally the Eagles topping the Billboard charts wouldn't be news.... in the 70s. But this is notable because Billboard magazine picked this week to adjust how they calculate the Billboard Top 200 Albums.

Until this week, CDs that were limited in distribution to one retailer were not included in the rankings of the Album Chart. Billboard made their change to reflect changes in music retail.

It's disappointing. Billboard should be against the labels going to one retailer, not encouraging it. With only Wal-Mart reporting sales numbers, there are no checks and balances, and Billboard is entirely reliant on a non-music industry retail chain for reporting important music sales figures.