AC/DC Signs Exclusive Deal with Wal-Mart

It was recently announced that legendary hard rock band AC/DC has signed an exclusive distribution deal with Wal-Mart retail outlets -- an agreement that would see the U.S. retailer being the only store in America allowed to sell the band's upcoming album, which is (tentatively) due for release this August.

Following in the footsteps of The Eagles, whose Long Road Out of Eden became the third highest grossing CD of 2007, AC/DC will be forgoing traditional distribution methods in preference of Wal-Mart's own promotional tactics. Financially, this may be a sound decision -- after all, Wal-Mart sells more CDs per year than any other retail outlet, and AC/DC's remastered back-catalog albums have been selling steadily at Wal-Mart since they were released in 2003 (Back in Black is one of the store's constant bestellers).

But the real issue for many fans isn't whether AC/DC will be richer from the deal; for most devotees of the group, it's a move that reeks of desperation on the band's part. It has also struck many fans as being somewhat antethetical to the nature of the group. AC/DC was, after all, a "bad boy" band in their heyday -- original lead singer Bon Scott died of substance abuse and a hard-partying lifestyle (official documentation cites the cause as "death by misadventure"). Their songs almost always contained clever sexual references or imagery, sometimes quite subtle ("You Shook Me All Night Long") and other times...not so much ("Let Me Put My Love Into You").

AC/DC has never been as overly aggressive in pushing boundaries as other contemporary hard rock/heavy metal bands, but part of their appeal to begin with was their playful handling of risque content; one of the reasons they so often appeal to teenage boys, apart from the more obvious aspects (awesome guitar solos and crunchy riffs!), is the fact that both Bon Scott and second frontman Brian Johnson, along with guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young, channeled a sort of schoolboy mischievity hrough their music. They were singing about filth and raunch but doing so in an endearing fashion.

Which, all things considered, makes the Wal-Mart exclusive even more confusing -- sure, these guys are getting older now and may not be writing songs with titles like "She's Got Balls" anymore, but what does it say about their intentions when they sign a deal with a store that notoriously refuses to sell unedited CDs? Many artists who would have refused to publish edited versions of their albums have since caved in to pressure from their labels simply because of Wal-Mart's monopoly on the industry. For example, in 1991, Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion double album was one of the first CDs to be slapped with a Parental Advisory sticker; when Wal-Mart began to block sales of any albums containing this sticker over a decade later, Guns N' Roses responded by putting out a Use Your Illusion compilation disc containing all the "clean" songs from their album -- for the sole purpose of being sold through the store. (This was actually a move orchestrated by GNR's label, Geffen, rather than the band itself.)

The moral standards of Wal-Mart itself is fuel for another discussion which I will avoid divulging into here -- it would just open up an entirely new can of worms -- but, their questionable ethics aside, why would a store known for its clean-cut image and forcably censored artistic content opt to offer such a "dirty" rock n' roll band's album exclusively through their store? Have the moralists in charge of Wal-Mart paid attention to the lyrics on some of their older albums? Do they realize the back catalog albums probably would have been stuck with Parental Advisory labels, too, if the sticker had existed when they were originally released?

And, ultimately, what does this say about AC/DC? By choosing to sell the album only through Wal-Mart, they are taking one further step towards exterminating the concept of the independent record store; all those indie shops that helped AC/DC rise to prominence back when High Voltage first came out? Forget about them -- they're not relevant anymore. Well, at least not according to AC/DC, anyway.

Because that's really what this move guarantees -- one more step forwards for Wal-Mart towards total monopolization of retail music sales, and one giant step backwards for independent shops who are already struggling as it is in the age of downloading and retail outlets.

Since this news broke out a few days ago, I've read a lot of hateful comments on fan forums. One user promised to boycott the release entirely despite being a fan of AC/DC, and another user vowed to illegally download the album to spite Wal-Mart. While I don't endorse either of these options, I do have to express my own disappointment and dismay at this decision. When you hear that The Eagles and Garth Brooks are putting out albums through Wal-Mart, you don't really blink twice -- it's not exactly surprising that such an outdated American band as The Eagles would choose to distribute their music through a soulless retail outlet. And Garth Brooks? Again, no real shock -- maybe they can package his CD as a two-for-one deal with Larry the Cable Guy's new movie.

But when you see one of the world's most legendary and infamous rock n' roll bands releasing their album as an exclusive through this venue, it's quite disheartening. At the end of the day, the album will be judged based on its merits and not which store you bought it from, but I have a feeling AC/DC have sacrificed much of their dignity and respect by choosing this route -- and it will be interesting to see if they suffer any further backlash from their fanbase once more listeners find out about this.