By Dana Sedgwick

So Jay Z isn’t the only artist making rather unique distribution partnerships… though unfortunately for Ciara, the reputation of the partner does seem to matter here.

While the Samsung release of Jay Z’s (without the hyphen mind you) MCHG had most of the musical digerati either enthralled, in turmoil, or in disgust… Ciara’s Groupon bundle of Ciara & The Very Best of Ciara appears to leave them breathless in another way. Laughing.

And admittedly, it is a bit absurd to find what is considered by all means to be a successful album in the digital equivalent of the Sam Goody discount bin. (Remember Sam Goody everyone?) The album premiered at #3 on the Billboard charts and moved more than 60,000 copies in its first week of release. On top of that, it’s been less than a month since it came out!

Where’s the rush CiCi?

Here’s why this doesn’t fall under #newrules… by throwing your album up onto the “find things you don’t want at a great price” pile, you’re devaluing your own music – not just in price, in style. And I hear you devil’s advocates out there yelling about how artists give away their music for free99 all the time, the ultimate “devaluing.” But let’s be clear… the sweater you get out of a friend’s closet will always be cooler than the one you found on sale at Macys.

Moral of the story: Be thoughtful in your partnerships. This move may prove to juice the numbers for Ciara but really, such obvious desperation isn’t attractive in the long run.

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