Comments on: Why Are Music Sales Dropping? Because It's Hard to Buy Music

By: David Hall

David Hall — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:09:12 +0000

Re: “Digital is the future, but analog is the present.”

News flash: CDs are not “analog.” They’re digital.

By: Music Retail Going, Going, Just About Gone: Virgin Shutting Two More Music Stores | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:09:43 +0000

[...] of remaining music stores vanishes, and the big boxes like Wal-Mart (WMT) and Best Buy (BBY) keep cutting back the space they allot to discs, that won’t remain true for long. Print [...]

By: Best Buy

Best Buy — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:43:27 +0000

[...] Sean and I went to Best Buy today to take a look at voice recorders, and I was shocked to find that (a) their prices are competitive with Amazon.com and (b) that their music selection is laughably skimpy and has been relegated to the back of the store. [...]

By: Want to Buy a CD in Times Square? Make It Quick: Virgin’s Giving Up [MediaMemo] | LinkTouch

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:55:34 +0000

[...] of retail executives seem to be asking themselves the same question, and are responding by cutting the small space they’ve devoted to CDs even further. The exceptions: Special promotions for exclusive albums, like Wal-Mart’s (WMT) successful [...]

By: Want To Buy a CD in Times Square? Make it Quick: Virgin’s Giving Up | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:54:26 +0000

By: Patrick Amory

Patrick Amory — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:18:03 +0000

Aldo, most pop music has always sucked. Journey back in time to any era and 90% of everything is drivel. With the growth of indie labels and the ease of recording cheaply there is arguably more good music available now than ever before – both new and reissued.

You could make the argument that albums now have to be solidly great in a way that they didn’t have to before, for obvious reasons.

By: Warner Music: That “Music Tax For Colleges” Proposal Isn’t Ours (Sort Of). But it Should Be | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:14:33 +0000

[...] tackling them now — in discussions with anyone who will have them — then shrugging and giving up altogether. Print [...]

By: Neil Anderson

Neil Anderson — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:22:58 +0000

I use iTunes for all my music purchases.

By: Turley Muller

Turley Muller — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:52:42 +0000

CD’s are disappearing- just the promotional & new releases are getting floor space (and the popular classics)

Just last night I was in Best Buy, and was talking to my friend who is a manager there- and I asked “what the hell happened to all the CD’s?”
-Manager says “Guess”
I reply: “taking up too much floor space for too low of revenue dollar & margin per SKU”

-Exactly, plus they get stolen (store is high crime area of memphis) The assortment is a pain to manage, most people are buying music online, and selling CD’s doesn’t really doesn’t fit our strategic goals. So, that’s where our CD’s went.

For big box retailers like BBY, music was mainly bait to drive traffic to the store. Many people buy music pretty regularly. May hear a new song on the radio, or just like to go browse the titles. Now that one can buy a song & download in less than 10 seconds on his/her iPhone, or PC, as well as having software that recommends titles- CDs are not driving consumers into the stores like past times.

Yet, it’s really the issue of the long-tail.large and broad selection was what brought in the crowds, but today, people can find any album on Amazon.com at low price. Thus, bricks and mortar are catching the impulse buyers who want to listen to that music now.

Damn near every music-dedicated store/chain has gone under, ex Tower Records, and other names I forget, For the very few that are left, I bet their card will pulled with this economy.

Fitting that I ran across this article just after having all these thoughts run through my head last night at Best Buy

By: Dave Barnes

Dave Barnes — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:43:56 +0000

@Peter
“Digital is the future, but analog is the present.”

I am confused as CDs are digital. Analog is only the present for those few people still buying vinyl records.

By: Paul Deblinger

Paul Deblinger — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:20:51 +0000

I agree with this notion completely. I worked for Borders when they cut their CD, DVD and book inventory. The store where I worked is in a large college town and sold classical, jazz ad other genres at healthy levels. When the cuts came they were indiscriminate ad devastated the classical section. Borders made similar cuts in books and cut sections that sold very well. The problem with book, CD and DVD inventory systems is they are not very good. When a store carries i excess of 100,000 items and sells quantities if 1 or 2 of most items, inventory replenishment algorithms require lots of computer power. Borders inventory strategy was very weak and from the look of the store now, even weaker. They don’t know what they want to sell. Case in point: They have the Sony Reader but do virtually nothing to promote it.

By: Michael Shults

Michael Shults — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:28:05 +0000

I think music is more accessible in the online age, but still much harder to buy than it needs to be; especially given the condition of the industry!

In my experience, the “DRM” management restrictions that are foisted on online vendors and consumers, often make it harder to pay for music than to “pirate” it.

Real Networks “Rhapsody” is a case in point. It’s DRM regimen is such a mess that it frequently prevents me from playing music (through Rhapsody) that I’ve paid for. So, when I find a song on Rhapsody that I want to buy, I switch over to iTunes to buy the music, often for more money, just so I won’t be stuck with all the “DRM” hassles.

I don’t get it. I happy to pay a reasonable amount, the going rate seems to be a something less than a dollar per song, to buy a copy of something I want to keep. Why do they have to make it so hard?

By: Quincy Davis

Quincy Davis — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:58:29 +0000

I Like iTunes for my music downloads.

By: Peter Kafka

Peter Kafka — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:21:47 +0000

No question that it makes sense for retailers to cut floorspace, Carlos – I wouldn’t expect them to carry buggy whips, either. And there are many reasons why the CD is in decline. But people tend to ignore the retail angle, which is more important than “anger at the RIAA” or other rationales you often hear about. And the retail shrinkage is a self-fulfilling prophecy – put less product out and people will buy less product.

By: Carlos Portocarrero

Carlos Portocarrero — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:43:07 +0000

I don’t agree that buying music is “hard.” If anything, buying music has become easier and easier. Now you can listen to a song, whip out your phone, and buy it right away. And iTunes (like them or not) has brought downloading music to the masses by making it easy, cheap, and fun. This is the future, so it makes sense that retail stores reduce their CD floorspace.