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While Wal-Mart represents nearly twenty percent of major-label music sales, music represents only about two percent of Wal-Mart’s total sales.

“If they got out of selling music, it would mean nothing to them,” the story has a label executive saying. “This keeps me awake at night.”

That’s end of the Ars Technical excerpt, but there’s more – a lot more – in the Rolling Stone story, and the conclusion is especially interesting.

“Major labels insist that the low prices mass retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy demand are impossible for them to achieve,” it says, talking about whether or not the Big Four will ever drop their CD prices. But it has Best Buy senior vice president Gary Arnold saying,

“The record industry needs to refine their business models, because the consumer is the ultimate arbitrator. And the consumer feels music isn’t properly priced.”

So? So maybe WalMart can get CD prices lowered across the board, says Hannibal