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I was just reading an article (you can find it here until Yahoo! pulls it off) about retailers making deals with Sony BMG after being upset that Sony granted Starbucks the exclusive rights to sell the new "No Direction Home" "Live At The Gaslight 1962" Bob Dylan CD. Basically, the retailers (HMV Canada in particular) were so upset that Starbucks was granted the exclusive that they pulled many Dylan titles from their stores. HMV Canada pulled ALL of Dylan's catalog from their stores, the same thing they did with Alanis Morrisette after her Starbucks exclusive album came out.

Hello, retailers! Guess what? If you pull an artist's albums from your stores, your customers are going to find other places to purchase said albums! Perhaps Mr. Customer would have bought the new Foo Fighters or Rolling Stones album from your store while they were shopping there, but you've forced them to spend their money elsewhere. Also, you are hurting your credibility by shunning the catalog of a very popular, very influential musician. Artists like Dylan, The Beatles and others deserve to have shelf space in ANY non-specialty record store!

Are you in business to approve record companies' business decisions, or are you in business to serve the record-buying public? That's a great idea, you know. I think I'll open a record shop tomorrow and only stock the artists whose music I like and whose ethics and business decisions I agree with. If a customer doesn't like my musicial opinion, too bad! Of course, I won't make any money that way but that's beside the point.

Music is supposed to be about art. It's supposed to be about expression. It's supposed to serve the needs of the musician and listener alike. Today, it mostly serves the middleman. That's just sad. Commerce is based on supply and demand. If customers demand Bob Dylan albums, I think retailers should just shut up and supply and watch the money come in.