Alanis Morissette Banned By HMV Canada
HMV Canada has banned all Alanis Morissette CDs from it’s stores. Sadly though, this wasn’t done in a rare moment of good taste by the retailer.
It’s the tenth anniversary of Jagged Little Pill, the album which launched the image of Alanis Morissette (CDs) as an angry wailing harpy onto the world. And to celebrate it, Alanis decided to re-release the album acoustically. The only thing is, she’s given a six-week head-start on sales exclusively to Starbucks. Now HMV Canada are so angry at Alanis, they’ve banned all her CDs from their shops.
The ban "will last for an indeterminate period of
time," according to Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV Canada – the
largest music retailer in the country. He’s also written a letter
directly to Morissette to explain the company’s reasons.
It’s
not the first time that the store has banned artists for using similar
tactics. Elton John and The Rolling Stones have also felt the wrath of
HMV, although now they are both sold again in their stores.
The
fact is that Alanis Morissette is probably only bringing out an
acoustic version of Jagged Little Pill because everything else she’s
ever done has sucked harder than Vanessa Feltz eating a barrel of
spaghetti. Former Supposed Infatuation Junkie, anyone? Thought not. And
this Starbucks-only tactic is very possibly just a big stunt to draw
attention to her new old record. Not that she’d admit it, obviously.
"For me, it was just about coming up with a creative new way for
people to share this music. If people don’t choose to go into a Starbucks and take
that few minutes between the time they order a coffee and receive
their coffee to focus on music, then they’re welcome to get that
music where they typically get it. Or not get it at all."
And why Starbucks? Their motto seems to be ‘The blander the better’.
Starbucks and music have a strange history. They were behind the
success of Genius Loves Company, the last ‘quickly, get Elton in for a
duet before he croaks’ album by Ray Charles.
The coffee chain also famously banned the last Bruce Spingsteen album from their
stores, because it featured the song Reno, about a man bumming a whore.
But if they’ll censor that, why haven’t they taken offence to some of
Alanis Morissette’s lyrics?
"Are you thinking of me when you fuck her?", "Would she go down on
you in a theatre?" Are these any less offensive to the coffee-sipping
masses than Springsteen’s "Two hundred dollars straight in, two fifty
up the ass"? Or has the newly corporate Alanis changed the lyrics to
"Are you thinking of me when you… buy her a delicious and reasonably priced cup of
Guatemala Antiqua?"
Who’s right here? Alanis and Starbucks, or HMV Canada? Leave your comments below.
[story by Stuart Heritage]
maybe it is time that we ban the HMV, i dont find it a problem at all in fact i will no longer shop at their store , i will continue on with going to starbucks though
thier loss
It’s not about the damn coffee. it’s about canadians supporting canadian companies, those same companies that made her famous. I didn’t see starbucks selling alanis’s first album when it came out. i didnt see starbucks promoting alanis until she had already become famous. when people become rich and famous, they tend to forget their roots, and become greedy, and thats where HMV is mad. i strongly support HMV, and the descisions they made. if it wasn’t for HMV where do you think alanis would be today? probably not where she is right now. it’s always good to give back when people give to you. Money isn’t always the most important thing in life.
I agree with those comments heather wrote. Glad to finally find a place to write about this online. I am boycotting HMV as of now.
I buy a ton of music (as most people who download free music on the net do by the way. check out the surveys). I do not particularly like Starbucks, and I know this is just a commercial venture by Alanis. But who the hell is HMV to tell artists where and when they can sell?
And I do not buy the argument that HMV has supported Alanis in the past and that she is somehow turning her back on them. HMV is a business. They support only themselves. But now it seems that HMV somehow feels like they are also the music police of the world and have some moral right or something to ban those who go against them. It sounds like the church or something. At best, it sounds like a bitter child playing a tit for tat kind of eco-politics.
HMV is a monstrosity. (It was when it rolled onto Yonge and St. Catherines streets and put Sams out of business). And, so is Starbucks. But this weekend I am going to Starbucks to buy my Alanis CD, and then after that… well I do not think I will buying at HMV anymore. There are plenty of other good record stores.
if it wasnt for HMV there would be no Alanis. Period. she turned her back on someone that supported her, even when she put out bad albums. i’m not a coffee drinker, nor am i an large american corporation supporter. so where am i supposed to buy her album?
War Second Cup…….Al?
Last time I checked HMV didn’t own any copyrights to any of the music they sold. Maybe if the president of HMV or one of it’s workers one day gets some talent and puts out a cd of their own then they can have their say. Getting upset at where someone else decides to sell their cd with their voice on it and their songs is like a gas station deciding where you can and can’t drive after you buy gas from them. Totally moronic.
HMV is an English company, NOT a Canadian company, so the comments made earlier about HMV being Canadian and making Alanis who she is today are incorrect. Alanis made herself! AND I agree with most of the postings otherwise so far. My relationship with HMV is over – one that has lasted since the death of SAMS, and I will continue to support local shops that support independent artists. Bought the Alanis CD today over a chai tea latte…yummy! BOYCOTT HMV!
…jumping javas little thrill, another corporat’ed selling frill
Singing artist profiting dealing with devil machine…
Exporting addictions: INES caffeine’s, plastic lid’s of plasticines and nicotine’s …Whom tweeked ‘gina of her mind this time’ and whom–
…shall pay to feed corporate machine, we cannot buy this CD from her own website with her own label, how shortsighted, nay we cannot pay at yoga class or at health food store, but she’ll lead you back INES devil machine-her actions are louder then her songs— how sad…
Oculi multi Luna
If you’re not going to buy cd’s from hmv, where are you going to buy them? starbucks? i’m sure starbucks sells their music at a much higher price than anywhere else in canada. go ahead and buy them from a large american corporation. don’t come crying when cd’s are fifty bucks, and your latte enema costs twenty. besides alanis doesnt really have any talent. i’m actually glad that HMV has decided to boycott, and i hope they stop selling her crap altogether.
Jimbo, there are lots of independent CD shops in Canada (or in the Hamilton area, for example) that need to be supported: Records on Wheels in Dundas (best shop left in Hamilton area), The Beat Goes On, and Screaming Mimi’s to name a few. Reasonable, great selection and you can actually ask a sales person about a title and THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT! And thanks to digital downloads, CD’s will never be $50! And btw, Starbucks is attempting to do something HMV isn’t: give the consumer a choice! Boycott HMV!
I haven’t shopped at HMV since they remodeled the superstore, thinned out their selection and jacked the price of nearly everything by $5-$10. Canadian or no, I don’t buy from gougers.
“If you’re not going to buy cd’s from hmv, where are you going to buy them?” Hello – how about Rotate This, Sonic Unyon, Dr. Disc, Beat Goes On – hell, I’d buy from Sunrise before HMV.
HMV claiming a hand in Alanis’ success is like Canadian Tire claiming a hand in the success of Coleman lanterns. They are a RETAILER, and in any other situation, they would play the “it’s just business” card. They made their millions selling Jagged Little Pill the first time around, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s already more reward than they deserve.
PS, Alanis blows.
Starbucks is American and HMV is Canadian. Alanis is Canadian, my question is: Where is the loyalty?
T.
Screw HMV! Their in-store prices are laughable, their online prices are way too high and now they’ve banned my favourite artist, Bob Dylan.
My word of advice to HMV – boycott ALL artists. That way you won’t have to put up with people like me.
I spend about $700-1,000 per year on CDs and DVDs. Guess how much of that is going to go to HMV.
Who needs them anyways? There are stores with better selections and better prices.
Paul
T, HMV is NOT Canadian – it is a British company…NOW where do your loyalties lie? WITH INDEPENDENT CD SHOPS!
Screaming Mimis RULES!
Christopher
First Question, if she gave HMV exclusive rights to her album for six weeks, would everyone else ban her? I don’t think so.
Does it really matter who she signed a deal with? I don’t think so.
Does it cause an inconvenience to her fans if HMV doesn’t see her albums? I suppose only if we shop at HMV.
What makes HMV so damn special? I’m not sure I know the answer to this question, I don’t think they’re special at all.
and honestly now, if only Canadian fans listened to Alanis would she have become so widely known…obviously not, so if she’s willing to cut a deal with an American company and their country has a large role in her success and popularity…SO BE IT.
Really I just wish people would respect artists, their ability, and give them some credit for making what they feel is the best decision for them.
HMV…might as well stop patting yourself on the back, walking with your nose in the air and thinking you’re so much better than any other music store…new flash HMV….you keep banning artists from your inventory, you will lose their fans for not only that specific banned artists but for that fan’s overall sales.
Idiots, Canada didn’t make Alanis famous. In fact, her first 2 “Canadian” albums bombed. Thats why she came to America with JLP, and of course it went wild. What exactly has Canada ever given the world? Bryan Adams? Conan O’Brian? Give me a break. HMV sucks, its over priced and fails hard here in the states. I blaim Canada for every bad thing done in the world. Maybe we should just take over Canada and make it more states. Shouldn’t be too stressful should it? Not like they can put up a fight… They complain about HMV and Starbucks all the time.
How ridiculous! Alanis was around long before HMV became a huge dominating chain. The days of music being sold in these huge stores is dying anyways. Thanks to the internet Mp3’s etc no one has exclusive rights on singers anymore anyways. I have always thought HMV sucks. It’s like a watered down record store. It sucks. You are only going to get top ten crap. If you are looking for something interesting it’s best to check out your neighborhood record store that no one has ever heard of.
I was just here to see how many people flamed Alanis. But I happened to see some Canada Bashing, and thought I’d post. Fist of all, If HMV is British, let me remind you who Runs Canada. Britain. We still swear fealty to the queen. Therefore, HMV is just as much a part of Canada as a part of Britain. Secondly, “Canada can’t put up a fight” Didn’t Bush send about 10000 soldiers up here shortly after he started his War to get trained? Reason? because Canada has the Best Military training in the world. Any one of our soldiers is at least 2 of anyone elses. If you are ignorant and decide to post, best to do your research first. Save yourselves some embarassment.