Five years ago today KISS released its studio album Sonic Boom. What was different between this KISS release and all the others? This one was only available at Walmart. The ploy helped the band grab its highest Billboard 200 debut ever (no. 2) while selling 108,000 copies during its first week.
There's a lot of talk about "going corporate" in the music industry. If you leave Southern Lord and go to Epic, are you really corporate? This metal fan would argue no. There can be little doubt however that offering an album exclusively through Walmart or iTunes is as corporate as it gets. Check out a few other bands that have gone Walclusive, ranked from least to most surprising.
05) Garth Brooks
Few performers are as fiscally savvy as Brooks, who may pass The Beatles as the bestselling single performer ever by the end of 2014. It was no surprise that he opted to release his six-disc, two-DVD set Blame It On My Roots exclusively at Walmart last year, conveniently around the Black Friday shopping period. The set of covers sold 310,000 copies in its first week-and-a-half, which would be impressive enough for a new album, even if it didn't pack the price tag of a six-disc set. It was the first in a series of big money-making decisions made by Brooks in the last year, including his launch of a digital music service and his strategic touring methods.
04) Eagles
The Eagles might technically fit within the genre of rock 'n' roll but they sure don't buy into the whole attitude. David Letterman took shots at the group during September when the band refused to let Paul Shaffer cover them on set, which came close on the heels of another lawsuit brought by member Don Henley against Frank Ocean for his sample of "Hotel California" found on "American Wedding." Our point: These are the kinds of bands that go the Walmart route. Long Road Out of Eden was the Eagles' first album in 13 years and it sold like it: 700,000 copies in one week.
03) Def Leppard
Def Leppard used to be at the pinnacle of rock 'n' roll but things aren't quite the same at the moment so we're a tad more understanding that the group decided to release its Mirror Ball retrospective exclusively at Walmart (and Sam's Club!). Unfortunately for the group it didn't find the same dedicated adoration as Brooks did and Leppard only moved 20,000 copies of the compilation, not even cracking the Top 10 of the Billboard 200.
02) AC/DC
AC/DC has never been a punk band, don't get us wrong. But there was always something about the schoolboy outfits, the writhing guitar solos and the general debauchery that made us feel like the group was from the dirtier side of the tracks. Alas the group released its 2008 album Black Ice exclusively at Walmart in North America, moving a healthy 800,000 copies in its first week. It obviously paid off as a business endeavor ("Money Made," as one of the album's singles proclaims) but never did the group have to ask itself what it did for money (honey).
01) Bruce Springsteen
Did you just snort Starbucks out your nose? If so: A) You're corporate and B) you're still shocked that of all people, Bruce Springsteen released an album exclusively through Walmart. Now, it was just a new collection of "greatest hits" but that wasn't enough to calm the equality-loving guard dogs that The Boss had raised through decades of his music. You see, Walmart has long been criticized for its strong anti-union position and has been accused of abusing the rights of minimum-wage staffers. In other words, it's the opposite of what Springsteen stands for. The E Street leader admitted fault in a New York Times article for not "vetting" the store enough but grumbles still linger.
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