Last week we reported that Target would not be carrying Beyoncé's new self-titled album due to bitterness over the songstress's choice to release the album solely through iTunes for its first week. Now it seems that internet retailer Amazon.com will follow a similar route.
Of course, unlike with Target, you'll still be able to download the album via Amazon's website, just not buy the physical copy. And if you'd to buy the physical copy, nothing's stopping you from buying it through one of the smaller vendors that sells its wares through the site.
As SPIN accurately pointed out in its own coverage, Target (and now Amazon) is basically refusing to stock the album because it has a sales disadvantage on an item it didn't know existed, and it would rather sell no copies than less copies. Walmart on the other hand has no issues selling the album, which is perhaps why Beyoncé made a surprise appearance at one of that retailer's locations.
If the two stubborn holdouts are making an impact on the performer's overall sales, it's not very evident from her numbers. The album has already cracked platinum status (official numbers will be available on Christmas day) within its first two weeks of sales, and Beyoncé moved more than 600,000 downloads during its first sales week (which was limited to five days).
One of the most interesting theories we've seen is that the pop star may actually be punishing Target more for their refusal to stock her album than she is suffering from their choice. According to what we presume is an entirely satirical report, Queen B used her husband's connections with the Illuminati to wreak havoc on the store in the form of stolen credit card information and a hot holiday mess. If you pointed out that the stolen credit card number fiasco occurred during the holiday season, you're thinking about it too hard.
