Yes, the industry needs to embrace new forms of digital distribution and work around piracy and find ways to grow revenue, but what about a scenario in which the country's biggest music retailer expands its product offering? It could be a goldmine for some labels.

Billboard's Todd Martens and Ed Christman wrote an article about a possibility that must have some labels tingling with excitement: Wal-Mart may look to end its band on stocking explicit albums. Sources told Billboard the retail giant has shown signs of loosening its policy that does not allow its stores to stock titles that carry a parental advisory sticker. It is bringing in urban lines in other product categories, and there are new executives that may initiate the changes.

"We've certainly heard that Wal-Mart has looked into including stickered product in their assortment," one label source told Billboard. A distribution exec, though, said, "There is no truth to it."

Spin.com covered the story as well and got a VP of TVT to comment. "Their entry into uncensored product will mean an increase in sales for titles that were previously only available in their stores in an edited form," said Paul Burgess.

Wal-Mart requires labels to voluntarily sticker albums that have explicit content, and it does not carry stickered albums. It requires an edited version to be produced in order to stock the album.

Previously on Coolfer:

• Evanescence slips a dirty word into Wal-Mart.
• Wal-Mart goes gold with Garth Brooks' box set.
• Wal-Mart's policy on carrying explicit content.