The Eagles’ ‘Exclusive’ Wal-Mart Album Being Sold at Virgin,
Other Stores  Seventies rockers and enemies of Jeffrey Lebowski
The Eagles announced last month that their latest album, "Long
Road Out of Eden," would be exclusively available at Wal-Mart,
Sam’s Club, and the company’s online properties, thanks to a
deal that gives the band a higher-than-normal cut of each sale
and includes them in a $40 million ad campaign.  But the album
is showing up at all sorts of other record stores anyway, from
small independent shops to the Virgin Megastore chain.  How are
the albums getting there?  Evidence indicates that in some
instances at least, other stores have been buying the album at
Wal-Mart and reselling it for more.  At Wal-Mart, the double CD
album costs $11.88; at Virgin and other stores, the price ranges
from $19 to $25.  SoundScan has reacted to the trend by trying
to "weed out" double sales, although the practice could have led
to unnaturally high sales numbers for the album, which topped
the charts with 71