Decatur CD’s Open Letter To Sugarland Gets Results
Decatur Metro | August 10, 2009
There once was a band named Sugarland.
Sugarland grew up amongst the rolling hills of Atlanta, feeding off the love and attention given to it by Decatur music mainstays like Eddie’s Attic and Decatur CD. Then one day, the little country band grew up, moved out and became very famous amongst much greener (ca-ching!) pastures.
Things were fine for a while. Lord knows Decatur was used to its singing children moving on and succeeding in the bigger world. But then one day, Sugarland signed an exclusive deal on a new album with Wal-Mart and Decatur (played here by Decatur CD) felt betrayed.
In an open letter on its blog, Decatur CD writes…
About five minutes before we started writing this letter, a customer walked in and inquired about your new CD/DVD release, Live on the Inside. “Do you know if it’s out yet?” she asked. We said that, yes, it was released Tuesday, but that we were not allowed to sell it. She’d have to go to Walmart to get it. “Walmart?” she replied, with an incredulous look. “Really?” She left disappointed, and frankly, we’re disappointed as well.
You guys have been around roughly as long as Decatur CD, and we’ve been supporters of your music from day one. We’ve put your releases on listening stations, given away tickets to your shows and so on. After all, what is a local music scene if not an extended family of sorts? We have to take care of each other.The point is that by shutting the door on independent record stores, you’re in effect shutting the door on your hometown.
Read the full post here.
But this time around, this big-box store eats local store story has a sorta happy ending! Within two days, Sugarland’s Kristain Bush responded saying…
You are right, and thanks for the suggestion. I am in Houston for a show right now but will come by the store when I get home on Wednesday and bring you a few boxes of discs, We can peel off the Wal-Mart stickers together while we catch up. -Kristian
h/t: Crib Notes
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Kristian and Jill Bush are nice folks ! Glad they are a part of this community.
Sounds good; however, I’d like to see what the fellers at Wal-mart corporate have to say about it.
Now this is awesome. Our local Decatur music store in a true ‘David & Goliath’ moment.
Warren will probably have to keep the DVDs under the counter in plain brown wrappers.
“Hey kid, wanna buy a Sugarland CD?”
“First one’s freeeeee…
…Wait. No it’s not.”
Whatever happened to Kristen Hall?
She and the other two parted ways a couple years ago -after the first album, maybe? – and there is some pending litigation regarding songwriting royalties, I believe.
Kristen wasn’t feeling the country vibe from what I heard. That makes sense, because only Jennifer Nettles was actually into country. I don’t remember much about how Bush’s old band Billy Pilgrim (with Andrew Hyra, brother of Meg Ryan) actually sounded, but they weren’t country. Man, I am old.
If you are, then I must be, too– and I can understand not feeling the country vibe. I’m not much for it meself, but man! It must be a bit deflating to have the band you left hit the big time afterward. *sigh* That’s show biz, I guess…
Funny that this comes up after the recent hotly debated Walmart thread on this blog.
Now you all can see the true impact of shopping at Walmart.
This is just one small example of how that multi-national corporation intentionally pushes independents out of business.
Sugarland and Elmo……
No lie…until I read this post, I thought Sugarland was that late 70’s rap group that sang “Rapper’s Delight.” Then I remembered…that was Sugar Hill Gang.
What can I say? To the amusement of my friends and the embarrassment of my wife, I’m an unrepetant metalhead. So I tend to get confused about band names containing the word “sugar.”
Bob Mould!
Husker Du? Oh wait…Sugar! Yeah, I remember that. Can’t forget Bjork’s old band The Sugarcubes. Or Sugar Ray…etc.
…or Ian Mac’s:
“Lips like sugar, sugary kisses…”
You know, when Echo decided to suck.
I’m starting to have Nancy Sinatra fantasies.
Starting!?
Despite the promise to bring a box of cds to one store, the fact remains that Sugarland agreed to an exclusive deal with Wal-Mart. They were, presumably, not forced to do so.
Isn’t it ironic that the genre considered to be “patriotic” sells most of its music at a store that has made a communist country an economic power?
Excellent points, Brianc.
That’s one of the more insidious aspects of national chain retail. It allows us the luxury of mentally disassociating our shopping habits from their impact on our local economies. It’s big and corporate and, thus, seemingly not personal or relevant to local issues.
We can think, oh, I’m participating in the global economy right now. It doesn’t have anything to do with Warren down the street…
[BTW -- Hey, DM, nice new masthead. You should write a glowing post in tribute to yourself.]
Hyra & Bush were definitely not country. Sort of that acoustic coffee house sound that peaked in the mid 90s (Indigo Girls, Billy Pilgrim, etc). I know of some of their fans, as well as Jennifer Nettles fans, who are dismayed at the direction they took their music.
But the “new country” scene is really just the old top 40 pop scene with a decided Nashville twang. People like Hyra, Bush, Nettles etc toiled away in obscurity for quite a while so I can’t fault anyone for making a buck.
“Hey! it must be the Money!.”
How else could any band be talked into an exclusive deal? The way the internet is now, you either sell only at one place or you sell (try to, that is) at any place.
I’ll sell out my music any day, seriously, make me an offer. Wal-mart, Kmart, Best Buy, Amazon, the dude with his trunk open down at the Chevron…
Reporter Kevin Rowson of WXIA was filming a report in Decatur CD last night.
Just read on AJC.com that Bush visited the store but didn’t bring any cd/dvds.
Methinks the Boys from Bentonville nipped that little segue (well-intentioned though it was) in the bud. You sign a deal with WallyWorld, you’re going to play by their rules– and if their rules say they’re the exclusive purveyor of your goods/services, then they’re the exclusive purveyor of said goods/services, period. I haven’t seen an exception to this, even though I’m sure there has to be one somewhere…