Comments on: Going, Going, Not Yet Gone: CD Sales Drop Accelerating

By: Why Are Music Sales Dropping? Because It’s Hard To Buy Music | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:35:01 +0000

[...] is the future, but analog is the present. Which is why CD sales remain the biggest revenue driver for the music business. But big box retailers, who sell almost all of the industry’s discs, are determined to change [...]

By: Glenn Peoples

Glenn Peoples — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:34:50 +0000

I too have bought many CDs this year. Some at record stores, most at merch tables at concerts. It’s hardly a dead format (especially for independent musicians) but Wal-Mart and Circuit City are certainly taking it down a few pegs.

Labels are all to aware of their reality, and as Peter said it is difficult to adapt. CD and album revenue is being replaced by digital tracks, the occasional ringtone and (currently) meaningless advertising revenue sharing. The rise of the 360 contract is evidence of this awareness. The eventual rise of ISP-based subscription models and bulk purchasing (tracks on Dell computers, loads of content stuffed onto a slotMusic card) show an improved realization that old ways of selling music (album at a time, track at a time) won’t cut it.

By: maura johnston

maura johnston — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:33:15 +0000

I’ve bought multiple CDs this year — and I haven’t only used trade-in money to do so (I get about 75 CDs in the mail a week). Generally I like buying from artists if I can, although that isn’t always possible. I also spend money on downloads.

By: Peter Kafka

Peter Kafka — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:16:52 +0000

Thanks Eric. But I think that the majority of people who aren’t buying CDs aren’t doing it because they’re mad at the RIAA or Big Music or because they’re concerned that artists aren’t getting their royalties. I think they’re not buying CDs because they’re getting music for free, or because they’re just buying individual songs. The trick is for the industry to adapt to that reality, and it’s proving very difficult.

By: Eric Welch

Eric Welch — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:11:07 +0000

The hostility of the RIAA and music labels to consumers is the driving force here. I’m so sick of their attacking innocent people, and attacking those who are guilty with disproportionate penalties (people convicted of manslaughter can get smaller fines) has stopped me from buying most CDs new.

I buy most of my CDs used at Amazon. Why? Better quality than downloads, and a hard copy. But the labels don’t get my money. If artists would create websites to collect royalties from people like me, I’d send them double what the labels pay them for the sale of the CD new. And I’d still save money!