Victoria's Secret and Spice Girls team up for exclusive release

Billboard reported last night that the new Spice Girls Greatest Hits album will be sold exclusively at Victoria's Secret stores, a division of Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD), starting November 13, until it is released in other retail outlets starting January 15. According to the same report, fans will have a 24-hour period to pre-order the album from the Victoria's Secret website starting tonight at midnight. The album will also be available in digital stores from November 13, while the Spice Girls begin a worldwide tour in early December.

The deal that Capitol Music Group made with Victoria's Secret will also see the quintet performing at the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show," which will be broadcast by CBS (NYSE: CBS) on December 4. The world tour currently only features 10 dates, but due to popular demand, more dates are being added, according to Reuters.

The move to sell the greatest hits album in a retailer that focuses on women's lingerie is certainly understandable, especially given the marketing possibilities that will undoubtedly be unveiled shortly. At the same time, it is not an altogether bad move for the music industry to market an album like this strictly in a single store initially. Greatest hits collections are often hit and miss in terms of sales, so limiting the output initially may offer a better picture of how the album will sell after it is released to all retailers in January. The problem with a greatest hits album like this is that it is pulling 15 songs from only three albums that fans likely already have.

One idea that is sure to crop up in the marketing ads is that Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham) has the same name as the store... but that may be just too obvious.