It's Only Rock'n'Roll (But I Boycott It)

February 10, 2004 6:26 AM

...The Rolling Stones released their Four Flicks DVD in Canada on an exclusive distribution basis, limiting availability of the Four Flicks DVD to only one retailer, thereby excluding HMV and all other retailers from making this product available to their consumers....HMV responded by indicating that if its consumers were not good enough to have access to the Rolling Stones new product in HMV stores, then the Rolling Stones were not worthy of having ANY of its products in HMV’s stores...HMV would now like to solicit your opinion as it decides its next steps with regards to its position...
posted by boost ventilator (18 comments total)

I really like the idea of a store having consumers as opposed to customers.
posted by jon_kill at 6:31 AM on February 10, 2004

Weird. I was in HMV the other day and just happened to see something odd sticking out of the Rolling Stones DVD section. It was a sign that explained the situation. I applaud their decision and told the people there what I thought.

Your link doesn't work, btw. Brings up a "session expired" page.
posted by dobbs at 6:36 AM on February 10, 2004

I applaud their decision and told the people there what I thought.

Yes. Bravo to giant stores asserting their right to do whatever they want. Let the oppression end.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 6:55 AM on February 10, 2004

I think that HMV and the Rolling Stones should be cast into a pit, where they will be forced to battle to the death for our entertainment. When the battle is over, lions shall be released into the pit, to finish off the victors.

I'd pay money to see that.
posted by chrid at 7:09 AM on February 10, 2004

Given that the concerts were recorded in 2003, I couldn't be less interested in seeing the Stones cavort about in their geezeritude. However, it seems that HMV (a big dominating music store) is trying to duke it out with its rival - Futureshop.
Futureshop is owned by BestBuy, which has exclusive rights to the DVD here in the states. If I were HMV, I'd be plenty worried; Best Buy has a major share of music sales in the lower 48. If Best Buy can write deals for both the US and Canada, that makes them pretty formidable.
posted by borkus at 7:21 AM on February 10, 2004

I received that survey, but, eh, it wouldn't load properly in Mozilla so I don't know what the precise contents were. On the general issue, however, I'm reasonably pleased with what HMV did. I'm not huge fan of HMV, and rarely shop there, but exclusive distribution deals like that shut out other big retailers and tons of small retailers, and eliminate a lot of consumer choices. My motives for wanting to see the practice end, and HMV's are no doubt very different, but the end game is the same.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:36 AM on February 10, 2004

The Rolling Stones, a corporation fighting for it's market share, Canada. Only if you threw in something about tort reform would I be able to care less.
(I like Canada, just not important since I don't live there)
posted by destro at 7:36 AM on February 10, 2004 [1 favorite has favorites]

I came for the thread...I'm staying for destro's devastating dismissals of it!
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 7:50 AM on February 10, 2004

I took the survey and it only asked two questions, essentially 1) do you think HMV's actions sent the Stones etc a message, and 2) do you think HMV should make the first effort to repair this relationship. Not really much of a survey, if you ask me.

And I personally couldn't care less if any record store ever carried any Rolling Stones recording again.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:27 AM on February 10, 2004

Sounds like a future antitrust case against the Stones.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:05 AM on February 10, 2004

Honestly, what serious music fan doesn't have Let It Bleed or Exile on Main Street in their CD collection by now? Fuck the Stones, their avarice, Mick Jagger's economics degree, and their crappy geezerhood. They stopped being relevant around 1983, if not earlier.
posted by ed at 9:33 AM on February 10, 2004

Umm, has anyone else followed the link?

What exactly are they going to do with my email?

I am I signing up for some sort of opt-in SPAM?
posted by milovoo at 10:10 AM on February 10, 2004

Oooh, a storm is threatning !
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 10:18 AM on February 10, 2004

Yeh, fook em...I'm with ed.
posted by black8 at 10:38 AM on February 10, 2004

Broken link now.

This is one of the right ways to deal with such things. Hopefully more people will do it in the future.

The other "right way" is to buy up a few from FutureShop and offer them at a bit above cost, you know, as a big "Fuck You" to FutureShop, since people will go to HMV for the service even if it does cost a dollar or two more.
posted by shepd at 12:50 PM on February 10, 2004

everybody relax. these rolling stones, soon they will be dead. who will care?
posted by quonsar at 1:04 PM on February 10, 2004

ed, it was much, much earlier than 1983.
posted by peeping_Thomist at 6:38 PM on February 16, 2004

I seem to recall a few years ago that HMV (with the exception of its flagship store in Toronto) stopped selling independent bands because there weren't enough sales to support it. Unfortunately, indie bands suffered, "consumers" suffered, and HMV had more space for the dreck that sells.

How does this relate to the Stones not selling their DVD at HMV? I don't know and I don't care, but I do get tired of being told which bands I'm allowed to buy at which store. As a "consumer" I would be pretty ticked at not being able to buy Forty Flicks (not that I would) anywhere that was a mass distributor of music and movies, just as I was pretty ticked that I could no longer buy indie music at a place that supposedly cared for and catered to those who wished to buy it.
posted by ashbury at 7:02 AM on February 17, 2004