Here are the parts that hurt me the most:
The mass merchandisers now account for 34 percent of all music sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and music executives say Wal-Mart, the largest, accounts for about 20 percent of a hit’s sales on its own. That allows the chains to set the rules.
…
Wal-Mart refuses to sell any albums with parental warning stickers, including most hip-hop releases. Eminem’s albums, for example, are not sold at Wal-Mart. Many artists and labels, however, re-record special, cleaned-up editions of their albums for Wal-Mart’s shelves, deleting obscenities or changing lyrics.
….
Wal-Mart sells an edited, R-rated version of the racy film, “Y Tu Mam? Tambi?n,” not the full, unrated theatrical release. Although it does not sell Eminem’s music, it does sell the DVD of his movie “8 Mile,” but with a cleaned-up version of an extra music video included. (full story)
Scrub scrub scrub! Clean out the filth!
[link found via rocktober]