BusinessTN

Long before Alain Levy, the chairman of EMI Music, proclaimed “the end of the music CD as it is,” Cracker Barrel Co-Founder and Chief Executive Dan Evins saw it coming. The end of the CD seemed as good a time as any for a new beginning, so Evins started his own record label.

The move proved a good one for the simplest of reasons—amid slipping CD sales and record store closures (Tower Records, anyone?), people still like to eat. Probably no chain has taken advantage of this no-brainer as well as Cracker Barrel. Every day, while waiting to be seated or just out of curiosity, thousands of customers pass the time eyeing store merchandise. With less time for browsing, and fewer record stores around in which to browse, entertainment-hungry American motorists have purchased 2.5 million CDs from Cracker Barrel since the company launched its record label in 2003. Created in partnership with the National Council for Traditional Arts in order to peddle songs to which Cracker Barrel customers might have an emotional connection, the label focuses on “artists who capture the traditions of time-honored music.” One won’t find Paul Oakenfold here. According to spokesman Jim Taylor, the work of musicians featured on the company label must bespeak heritage, authenticity and patriotism.

Alison Krauss & Union Station happened to hit the jackpot with their Cracker Barrel exclusive, Home on the Highways. To date, the country/bluegrass album is the record seller with 250,000 copies sold since May 2005. Among others taking advantage of Cracker Barrel’s distribution channel are Amy Grant, Sara Evans, and the Charlie Daniels Band. The label also released Grand Ole Opry Live Classics, a compilation of never-before released broadcasts from the 1960s.

Shortly before EMI’s Levy gave his historic speech last October, Cracker Barrel hosted a reception at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame to celebrate the release of their latest exclusive compilation, dubbed Songs of the Year, which features Willie Nelson, Jo Dee Messina and Trisha Yearwood, among others. Country stars Trace Adkins and the band Lonestar were on hand to perform the classic country hits they recorded for the album. The sampling of artists featured on the CD revealed that all country acts, old and new, are intrigued by the new marketing opportunity.

With its 552 locations in 50 states and 600,000 visitors a day, the endangered CD format has found a sanctuary for the foreseeable future, at least.