Garth Brooks - Evil Genius?

All my friends in the music industry are buzzing about Garth's latest matermind move:


Garth Brooks ropes exclusive deal with Wal-Mart By
Melinda Newman
Fri Aug 19, 4:44 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Retired country star
Garth Brooks has signed a multi-year, exclusive pact
with Wal-Mart, making the world's biggest retailer and
its Sam's Clubs and Walmart.com outlets the only
places where his music will be commercially available.


The deal with Brooks marks the first time an artist --
and certainly a superstar -- has aligned himself and
his entire catalog with one chain. (A number of other
retailers have started labels, but they were never
exclusive to the retailer and most have shut down).

Speculation about a pact brewing between Brooks and
Wal-Mart grew after the artist performed at a
shareholders meeting June 3 in Bentonville, Ark.,
Wal-Mart's hometown. However, until now, both sides
have declined to acknowledge that they had made a
deal.

Brooks told Billboard that he's not ready to discuss
details of the Wal-Mart deal until "we get our ducks a
row," but added that the forthcoming releases, "in
everything from cost to content, will be an amazing
deal for the Garth fan."

The initial deal is believed to cover only catalog
since Brooks had vowed to remain retired from
performing and recording new material until his
youngest daughter graduates from high school in 2015,
by which stage he will be 53.

Then, he has said he'll reevaluate the marketplace and
his desire to return to the music recording industry.
Brooks' last studio album, 2001's "Scarecrow," has
sold 2.9 million copies in the United States,
according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Brooks' departure from Capitol Nashville, his label
home since 1989, paved the way for the Wal-Mart deal.
Capitol and Brooks dissolved their licensing deal in
June. Brooks owns his masters, leaving him free to
shop for a new deal. His catalog includes 15 projects.
Capitol parent EMI can sell remaining Brooks' titles
it already had in the pipeline to retailers prior to
the June deal, but it can manufacture no more units.

Although neither Brooks nor Wal-Mart would comment on
the first arrival under the pact, industry sources say
that it will be a multiple-disc box set including
previously unreleased material. The set will hit
shelves in late fall and will retail at around $25.

Such a project, because it is not available to all
retailers, would not be eligible for the Billboard 200
album chart, but would appear on the Billboard
Comprehensive Albums chart, which appears on
http://www.Billboard.com.

Reuters/Billboard