[gluteus maximus]

From CNET News

American retail giant Wal-Mart relaunched its online MP3 store Tuesday, and it's a worthy competitor to Amazon in the DRM-free MP3 sweepstakes. (To remind you: unlike many songs from Apple's iTunes, or Microsoft's Zune Marketplace, or Nokia's music store, every song sold on Amazon and Wal-Mart can be played an unlimited number of times on just about any portable device and in any software application out there.)

The new Wal-Mart store includes top hits at only 74 a cents per song, with standard pricing at 94 cents (a nickel cheaper than most), plus a free download of the week (hopefully it won't always be kids' music), plus one free MP3 download for every full physical album that you buy either in the store or on the Web site starting in November.

Read more here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10077151-27.html

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

From CNET News



Read more here: Wal-Mart MP3 store relaunches | Digital Noise: Music and Tech - CNET News

Won't catch me there...don't trust them..

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by Nightfly

Won't catch me there...don't trust them..

Do they still have a terrible reputation for the way they treat their staff?

gm

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

Do they still have a terrible reputation for the way they treat their staff?

gm

Yes and much more....and you know even if it's drm free,there's always
a catch like at Amazon.If a jazz album has 3 tracks, they'll charge you
$7.00 instead of the $0.89 a track they say they charge.

To much monkey business and trickery.Buyer beware.

[Gaucho]

Originally Posted by Nightfly

Yes and much more....and you know even if it's drm free,there's always
a catch like at Amazon.If a jazz album has 3 tracks, they'll charge you
$7.00 instead of the $0.89 a track they say they charge.

To much monkey business and trickery.Buyer beware.

What's the point anyway? We can get stuff at a fraction of the price.

[GHERDEZ]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

From CNET News



Read more here: Wal-Mart MP3 store relaunches | Digital Noise: Music and Tech - CNET News

Hello Maximus, Hello Nightfly, and Hello everybody else!

I, like you, wouldn't trust Wally World as far as I can throw them.
I would expect the online version Wal-Mart as it does in the real world. I expect:

Sell what appeals to the masses:
That is whatever is mainstream. That is pop, rap, and country.
I you don't fit the profile: you may not find what you are looking for, you will pay more, or you won't find it because it is censored (Wal-Mart will force its morality on you whenever it can ).

It will push on you whatever it wants to sell:
You can expect that the search engine will try to "make suggestions" even if they are not related to what you are looking for. Also, does this by....

Fluctuating prices:
It will hold infrequent, short-lasting meaningful sales, and play the numbers to death. This also makes them appear competitive with other stores: marketing calls this "bait and switch" tactics.
"The new Wal-Mart store includes top hits at only 74 a cents per song, with standard pricing at 94 cents". Thank you, Nightfly for pointing out another example of deceptive pricing.

Play with the formats (I took this one from the article):
If there are albums in CD format that can be sold for bigger profits outside of the online store. Don't expect the album to appear online immediately. e.g. "Black Ice, is available only at Wal-Mart--but not as a download... and just become AC/DC's second album to top the U.S. charts, showing that big old rock bands don't need none of that digital computer stuff anyhow" (I don't know about you all, but, I don't subscribe with the computer- illiterate attitude ).

Free stuff that nobody wants:
"download of the week (hopefully it won't always be kids' music)"

And, my personal favorite:
Poor Customer Service

Thank you all for reading...

GHERDEZ

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by GHERDEZ

Hello Maximus, Hello Nightfly, and Hello everybody else!

I, like you, wouldn't trust Wally World as far as I can throw them.

Hi GHERDEZ

I guess you don't like Wal-Mart very much

Here in the UK they own a major supermarket chain called ASDA. I don't shop there.

From Corporatewatch http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=800

Asda has been criticised for misleading advertising, using suppliers who are known to have illegal employment practices, ignoring planning regulations and destroying greenbelt land, lack of serious environmental policy and blatant greenwash. With its ‘strategy of consolidation’, copied directly from Wal-Mart, Asda pursues an aggressive takeover policy of small towns, wiping out local competition and local jobs. False claims by the company about 'value' and 'convenience', have been challenged, along with the exploitation of every opportunity to push impulse buying.

gm

[Ashleyj]

I went to a Wal-Mart once.

Really could not believe what they sold!

ASDA ought to do the same - that would really wake up Tescos!

[GHERDEZ]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

Hi GHERDEZ

I guess you don't like Wal-Mart very much

Here in the UK they own a major supermarket chain called ASDA. I don't shop there.

From Corporatewatch ASDA Wal-Mart : Overview



gm

Hello Maximus, Hello Ashley, Hello everybody!

Thank you for the link that you sent me I wasn’t aware of the existence of ASDA. I see that there is always something new to learn from people all over the world.

I’d like to recommend the following movie that can give you a more complete, balanced, and entertaining picture of the darker side of Wal-Mart. Although, you may have seen it before:

WALMART: The high cost of low price

WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price

I like to summarized it to:

“Privatization of profits and nationalization of obligations and losses”

The following link is about an entire web page dedicated to a myriad of issues surrounding Wal-Mart. Health care, damage to the environment, discrimination, testimonials from employees, you name it, it is all there.

Wal-Mart Watch

And, if a movie and entire web page of encyclopedic proportions wasn’t enough, there are other media articles and videos like the following:

“Big Box Mart” by jibjab (who specialize on making a number of funny parodies)

YouTube - Big Box Mart

(The video can be found on YOUTube, MSN videos, jibjab.com , etc.)

Which is basically keeping the profits for themselves and passing the costs of doing business to the tax-payer, which include healthcare benefits, social security instead of workman’s compensation, unemployment benefits, etc. All of these costs add up to billions of dollars of taxpayer’s money and most people are not truly aware of the hidden consequences.

The same ideology is followed by the record labels when pushing for legislation in the courts, rules aiming to oversee ISPs, and law enforcement... With money coming from people paying taxes.

Thanks again…

GHERDEZ

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by GHERDEZ

Hello Maximus, Hello Ashley, Hello everybody!

Thank you for the link that you sent me I wasn’t aware of the existence of ASDA. I see that there is always something new to learn from people all over the world.

I’d like to recommend the following movie that can give you a more complete, balanced, and entertaining picture of the darker side of Wal-Mart. Although, you may have seen it before:

WALMART: The high cost of low price

WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price

I like to summarized it to:

“Privatization of profits and nationalization of obligations and losses”

The following link is about an entire web page dedicated to a myriad of issues surrounding Wal-Mart. Health care, damage to the environment, discrimination, testimonials from employees, you name it, it is all there.

Wal-Mart Watch

And, if a movie and entire web page of encyclopedic proportions wasn’t enough, there are other media articles and videos like the following:

“Big Box Mart” by jibjab (who specialize on making a number of funny parodies)

YouTube - Big Box Mart

(The video can be found on YOUTube, MSN videos, jibjab.com , etc.)

Which is basically keeping the profits for themselves and passing the costs of doing business to the tax-payer, which include healthcare benefits, social security instead of workman’s compensation, unemployment benefits, etc. All of these costs add up to billions of dollars of taxpayer’s money and most people are not truly aware of the hidden consequences.

The same ideology is followed by the record labels when pushing for legislation in the courts, rules aiming to oversee ISPs, and law enforcement... With money coming from people paying taxes.

Thanks again…

GHERDEZ

Gherdez,

I like your energy and your post,but we try and keep to the politics of MUSIC here.
That's what we do, we are not a politico site.

We want this site to be for people to get away from that for awhile and kick back and relax.Not to get into a potential argument.

I know that Walmart is bad, but I just gave it a sentence and the rest about the music site.

Please don't take this personally as it is not meant to be,because
your input to this site is highly respected and appreciated.

Take care,

Keep up the excellent posts....