What's the steal: iTunes or the CDs?

I always marvel at ways businesses get your into their stores. Some concepts are straightforward, while others leave me baffled as to the intent.

Case in point is a wonderful deal Target has going this week: Buy 2 CDs from a list of 20 and get a $15 iTunes gift card tossed in for free. The 20 CDs range from current hits to classic rock and in price from $9.99 to $13.99 for double-CD packs.

I was able to find Muse's "Black Holes & Revelations," which had been on my shopping list for awhile since hearing the killer"Starlight" on XM. I also snagged Neil Young's "Greatest Hits." I'm not a huge Neil Young fan, but he's a rock legend, and I figured I'd not only snag a copy of "Rockin' in the Free World" -- one of the best songs to crank -- but also immerse myself in the breadth of a diverse 40-year career.

Both CDs were $9.99 each. So, for $20 plus tax, I got a $15 iTunes card, meaning I paid roughly $3 for each CD.

So, what's the catch? Who is footing the bill for this promotion? I suspect it's not Apple, which tends to drive hard bargains with its retailers, even those with the pull of Target. I doubt it's Target, because it's generally accepted that a store's cost for CDs is at least $5, and I find it hard that Target would use CDs -- a dying medium -- as a loss leader. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems odd. That leaves the hapless record companies, which are so desperate to move product that to me they'd all but give away discs just to tally some salesm no matter the price.

What's your guess?

Giving the Jam some props

Updated on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 9:18 AM by Logan Molen

OK, a few days ago, I pretty much slammed the Bakersfield Jam for what I thought were some goofy decisions in asking its season-ticket holders and the media to help it select a new head coach.

Still a bad idea.

But, Jam owner Stan Ellis also has unveiled a very innovative plan to make the NBA D League team profitable out of the gate this upcoming season, its first in a privately funded two-story basketball center out in north Bakersfield.

Click to read more ...

What are they thinking?

The Bakersfield Jam are outdoing even themselves with their latest stunt: let season ticket holders and media vote for the team's next coach.

Ugh.

This is a horrible idea on so many levels.

First, you're assuming your fans care enough to do hardcore research needed to make the right decision. They won't. Just check out any sports team's message boards. Nearly all of the active participants are clueless.

Second, the media should be impartial in covering the team. If they're helping to choose the coach, that line between fan and impartial observer disappears.

Third, this smacks of desperation. For a team that is trying a unique approach to making a final go of it in Bakersfield, why send the message that you don't know what you're doing when it comes to such a core decision?

My prediction: This will be, again, the Jam's last season in Bakersfield. I've always wondered how Stan Ellis could so freely bleed millions to run a team that has so little support here. The guy obviously is a smart businessman, but sure seems like the ego boost of owning your own sports team is clouding basic business judgment.

But since you're asking, I vote for Paul Mokeski, an Anaheim Arsenal (D-League) assistant coach. Why? He's listed fourth, alphabetically, among the 11 candidates. D is the fourth letter of the alphabet, and as any experienced California public school student knows, "When in doubt, answer 'D'."