VIDEO: The Rolling Stones and Exile On Main Street record – a modern day lesson in music retailing, branding, and content exploitation
June 10, 2010 by Richard Budman ·
You have hand it to the Rolling Stones. Besides the enormous output of quality tunes over decades of their existence. The Stones has proven they know how to make a lot of money and exceptionally manage their brand.
It started in the eighties when the Stones hooked up with concert promoter Michael Cohl and forever changed the business of concert touring. It was The Rolling Stones who figured out working and living in countries other than England would give the band much better tax breaks. Coincidentally, a lesson first learned while fleeing England for France to begin the recording of Exile On Main St. Canada has been another country benefiting from The Rolling Stones using it as a preferred destination to rehearse for upcoming concert tours.
But the Rolling Stones recently found a new way to rake in bundles of dough. And that’s with the reissue of their seminal seventies masterpiece record – Exile On Main Street.
With more than 100,000 units moved during it’s first week of sales during late May, 2010 – The Rolling Stones became the first band to have a studio album re-enter the charts at #1. (Exile also debuted at #1 on the record charts upon it’s initial release in 1972.)
Of course, it helped the band stumbled upon a lot of unused material from the original Exile recording sessions in France and U.S. Songs, as guitarist Keith Richards recently talked about, the band was so wasted they just ‘kinda forgot about’ at the time.
But the Rolling Stones don’t drop just a simple new reissue CD. They understand in these days of digital downloading the band wants to see maximum revenue for it’s brand realized. The Stones want more than just .99 cents a song (but they’ll be happy to take that too.)
When The Rolling Stones decided to reissue their Exile On Main Street record – you could certainly say they made sure to extend the Exile brand across a maximum number of product offerings.
New products offered by the Rolling Stones related to recent Exile On Main Street album reissue.
- 7″ vinyl limited edition (7,500) of Plunder My Soul (S/O)
- Original recording remastered on CD ($10)
- Deluxe package of original recording & bonus songs on CD ($24)
- Remastered and reissued 180 gram double vinyl ($30)
- Rarities edition CD recording & T-shirt ($40)
- Super deluxe edition of original on CD, LP, & book ($139)
- Exile On Main St. DVD documentary ($30)
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