Avalanche's stocking policy – not updated !
Some people seem to think we have changed our stocking policy after comments on twitter but nothing has changed. We simply expect to have a release available for sale (including presale) at the same time, at the same price and offering the same “extras” if there are any. We also expect the artist/band to publicise we have the release.
As we give more attention to the online shop this will still apply. One new thing however will be because there simply isn’t time to list everything if artists or indeed labels aren’t listed I’ll link to their own site so customers will still have the option to buy. I was disappointed with the comments made but exactly the same rules were in place for the new There Will Be Fireworks album that applied to the Kid Canaveral album. As for the latter I had no contact with the label or the band about how the album would be marketed before its release and in fact received a very understanding email from Johnny then still at Fence accepting it was unlikely I would stock the album.
Some customers have taken exception to the “bullying tactics” of those who feel they have the right to market their release any way they want (which of course they do) but still expect shops to then do the hard work of helping them reach beyond their fan base. As I say I was disappointed to see such comments but I’m even more disappointed at the lack of exposure some great bands receive settling to be big fish in a fairly small pond.
Lots more positive stuff to come here so I’d rather not dwell on this. Nobody is right or wrong here as everybody is entitled to handle their own affairs as they choose. This issue has escalated to the point that Target and Amazon aren’t stocking the Beyonce album ! The bottom line is retail big or small, on the high street or online can not survive on the crumbs left by artists who choose to sell directly to their fans exclusively before offering to retailers. Shops in particular only have time to promote a limited number of releases so it makes sense to deal with those artists who support them. If anybody is unsure I’m more than happy to discuss releases in advance and see how Avalanche can help.