AC/DC's next studio album will be exclusively sold at Wal-Mart stores in the United States, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The Brendan O'Brian-produced, as-yet-untitled Columbia album, is expected in the fall.
With this move, AC/DC becomes the latest veteran act to pact exclusively with the retail behemoth, following Garth Brooks, The Eagles and Journey. The Eagles's two-disc Long Road Out of Eden, released last fall, has been an enormous success, having sold more than 2.98 million copies in the United States.
The AC/DC deal comes at a time when Wal-Mart - the largest seller of compact discs in the US - is signaling it may rock the music world by stocking fewer CDs. Such a move is part of a trend that would further accelerate the already steep decline of CD sales as consumers make the transition to digital music.
AC/DC have not released a new studio album since 2000's Stiff Upper Lip.
By Joe Bosso
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