ONE RETAILER’S POINT OF VIEW
After expressing cautious optimism regarding UMG/ UMVD’s new JumpSTART pricing plan (see story, 9/4), Coalition of Independent Music Stores President Don VanCleave thought better of his remarks after seeing UMVD’s letter to retailers detailing how the plan will work. Below is a letter Van Cleave e-mailed us today.
HITS,
After living with UMVD's proposal for about 24 hours, I must insist that you remove me from your website article where you state that retail endorses the move. Yesterday, when I first heard about the drop, I was happy that someone finally had the guts to make a move. But, now that I see the details, I have grave concerns.
In the agreement, UMVD asks our stores to do things that are totally impossible for independent stores to comply with. They ask us to dedicate a large percentage of our promotional space and bin space to their products each month in exchange for the opportunity to buy at the lower cost.
The very nature of a store being "independent" is that they choose what to promote based on customer tastes and not necessarily label priorities. We have to understand what is truly expected of us before we can endorse this move. I stand undecided at this point.
Don VanCleave
President, Coalition of Independent Music Stores
