“In a dramatic acceleration of the seven-year sales decline that has battered the music industry, compact-disc sales for the first three months of this year plunged 20% from a year earlier, the latest sign of the seismic shift in the way consumers acquire music,” Ethan Smith reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“The sharp slide in sales of CDs, which still account for more than 85% of music sold, has far eclipsed the growth in sales of digital downloads, which were supposed to have been the industry’s salvation,” Smith reports.
Smith reports, “In recent weeks, the music industry has posted some of the weakest sales it has ever recorded. This year has already seen the two lowest-selling No. 1 albums since Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales, was launched in 1991. One week, ‘American Idol’ runner-up Chris Daughtry’s rock band sold just 65,000 copies of its chart-topping album; another week, the ‘Dreamgirls’ movie soundtrack sold a mere 60,000. As recently as 2005, there were many weeks when such tallies wouldn’t have been enough to crack the top 30 sellers. In prior years, it wasn’t uncommon for a No. 1 record to sell 500,000 or 600,000 copies a week.”
“The music industry has been banking on the rise of digital music to compensate for inevitable drops in sales of CDs. Apple’s 2003 launch of its iTunes Store was greeted as a new day in music retailing, one that would allow fans to conveniently and quickly snap up large amounts of music from limitless virtual shelves,” Smith reports. “It hasn’t worked out that way — at least so far. Digital sales of individual songs this year have risen 54% from a year earlier to 173.4 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But that’s nowhere near enough to offset the 20% decline from a year ago in CD sales to 81.5 million units.”
Smith continues, “Meanwhile, with music sales sliding for the first time even at some big-box chains, Best Buy has been quietly reducing the floor space it dedicates to music, according to music-distribution executives. Whether Wal-Mart and others will follow suit isn’t clear, but if they do it could spell more trouble for the record companies. The big-box chains already stocked far fewer titles than did the fading specialty retailers. As a result, it is harder for consumers to find and purchase older titles in stores.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Not to sound like a broken record, but when consumers have the ability to buy only the good tunes and are no longer forced to buy a CD full of filler crap, where’s the surprise in these numbers and trends? Hey, I like that song! Now it costs 99-cents instead of the $15 for the full CD of yesteryear. There’s a main reason for the sales decline. Here’s an idea: make more good songs and less bad ones (and stop with the DRM B.S. and think about upping the audio quality for legal online tracks while you’re at it) and you’ll probably sell more songs.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Tommy Boy” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
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Disney film sales via Apple’s iTunes Store rise sharply; over 1.3 million sold in first three months – February 02, 2007
Apple’s iTunes Store passes two billion songs milestone; 50m TV shows & over 1.3m movies sold – January 09, 2007
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comScore: Apple iTunes sales are surging; revenue grew 84% during first 3 quarters of 2006 – December 14, 2006
Piper Jaffray: Apple iTunes Store sales show strong year-over-year growth – December 13, 2006
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The next step is to price iTunes lower say $5 per album or 50cents a song. DRM free.
Everybody will be able to afford the music they want to hear and everybody will buy.
Probably the only way forward…
I for one would start buy my music on iTunes if they got rid of that DRM crap. And an option to get lossless audio content would be a plus too.
I know I can get around DRM by burning it to CD and ripping it back, but for me the convenience of digital music is not having to deal with a CD’s, this is an extra step that wastes time for no reason.
@Justified – I agree – looks have always been important but MTV has made them IMPORTANT! I doubt somebody with Barbra Streisand’s schnozz would make it today.
However, I’m standing firm on the labor and medium comments. I remember many times having to find or buy a new cassette or decide what to record over. I recall finding the point on a tape where I had room for the next single. I recall setting record levels. I recall never knowing exactly what was on a cassette because I didn’t write it down when dubbing at 1a.m. while doing homework and/or having a beer.
It wasn’t roofing a house but it also wasn’t a single click. I can now download 20 tracks from 20 bands with almost no effort. (I don’t but I could)
For me the problem is fairly simple.
First, the day of the physical CD sale are over. I have an attic full that I will never use again, so why buy more? I want to download, not go to a store.
Second, I really want to support the artists who write the songs, but buying music legally limits where and what I can do with that music due to draconian DRM schemes. In short, they punish me for downloading music legally so I won’t buy from any of them. Ever. Period.
Third, Illegal downloads presently offer little downside to me other than some security issues, a little time to find what you want amid all the corrupted files, and the fact they also cut out remuneration to that artist.
If music companies want me to buy from them, then they must offer DRM-free, reliable, secure downloads. It’s that simple.
“Music sales take sharp plunge”
But he noted that sales had been flat. Ten or so analysts are not jazzed and key industry officials seem pretty beat. “A classical sign and not natural,” quavered one high-strung, plucky staff member who also admitted the industry as a whole might be in treble.
TMF
Nice pitch, except for the fine.
Where is Slim Whitman when we need him the most? Or Zamfir, the acknowledged master of the pan flute? Or Gay Puckett and the Union Gap? I’ll tell ya, only they could turn this whole thing around…
Oh, Romero
Aren’t you forgetting the man who launched a 1,000 trains? That restless soul who epitomizes the very essence that we, as mere mortals strive for, yet knowing the cause futile, to only hope for a glimpse of the genuis that is Boxcar Willie?
I actually still buy full CDs. Main reason is the better sound quality I guess (ripping at 192AAC). Also having full liner notes etc. feels better. However, I think that I spent close to 600€ on iTMS in 2006. It’s too true what’s been said about filler tracks on most CDs. I’m always surprised if I find a CD containing more than 2 good tracks. Last CDs I come to think of (excluding jazz or classical albums that is) where the whole album was amazing was Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” album and then of course that Swedish chameleon musician Salem Al Fakir’s debut album. BTW, check it out, it’s amazing! Anyway, I’m all for better albums (sans crap) but we all know it aint gonna happen.
I think everyone has some really valid points. Especially MDN pointing out it’s no longer necessary to buy a whole CD for just one song. I know with me, ripping my entire CD collection to iTunes has made my library more accessible. I spend a lot more time listening to my older stuff than I used to- because it’s right there.
“Not to sound like a broken record, but when consumers have the ability to buy only the good tunes and are no longer forced to buy a CD full of filler crap, where’s the surprise in these numbers and trends? Here’s an idea: make more good songs and less bad ones…<i>
Another totally immature MDN take with absolutely no objectivity. HEIL iTUNES!
“only the good tunes” and “filler crap” is an area of subjectivity to the extreme.
“make more good songs and less bad ones…” A TOTALLY idiotic statement.
From the article: <i>””The sharp slide in sales of CDs, which still account for more than 85% of music sold, has far eclipsed the growth in sales of digital downloads, which were supposed to have been the industry’s salvation,” Smith reports.”
In other words, digital distribution of music is doing NOTHING for overall music sales. PERIOD. Apple has sold well over ONE BILLION songs through iTunes and it’s not helping the slump one bit.
When record companies used to put out singles, they were made to sell the full albums (kind of like samplers to spark interest). A band would release a single and it would generate interest in the band/album (usually through radio air-play). They never pressed every single song on the album onto individual 45s. Now, *every song* can be bought as a “single”. IMO this is a *negative trend*, and is ultimately bad for the artists. *The entire album* is the artists satement, and should be taken as such. I suppose I’m a purist in that way (a proud, dying breed). Peoples’ attention spans these days is so short that they don’t want to spend the time to explore an entire album, and that’s just plain sad. Only the “hits” right? Have you ever bought a CD for a few songs and noticed how the rest of the album started to grow on you, and you loved the other tracks that didn’t catch your ear right away? I am into *bands/artists* not “tunes”. When I like a band, I explore them – buy their CDs and listen to them as a whole. Each album is like a snapshot in time of where that band was and how they progressed.
I think this new model of being able to buy any song as a single, not only cheats the artist, but ultimately cheats the listener as well. It’s commodity fetishism.
I agree the music for the most part is crap out and I refuse to pay 15-20 bucks for a CD that only has a couple of good songs on it. On another note I am completely baffled by the fact that no I mean NO ONE has tried to match itunes. These people out there are completely out of touch–in most other enterprises copy cats abound but not when it comes to itunes–really wierd. i mean couldn’t even M$uck at least copy itunes with a similiar online music store? Have we (mac) really locked up so much music that no one else can compete–complete idiots out there–music studios get what they deserve. Long live Steve Jobs!!!
Paradigm Shift. All optical media needs to just go away, and this is coming from a video production company that makes a living from optical media. It will be great when DVDs and CDs are things that our children laugh about and SNL 2015 series makes fun of. Everything should be either static storage or hard disc in my opinion. So much easier to work with and, with a responsible backup, more dependable and long lasting. Go itunes, Goodbye Tower Records.
Andrew Hamilton
Videographer Las Vegas
http://www.hiproductions.com
Most of the music I buy is at least 10 years old (and 10 years is almost only for rap), usually 30. Considering the fact that I’m 21, it raises a question: Is there something wrong with modern music?
2 hits and 10+ filler tracks. Lack of innovation and superficial customers.
I think we could use a new Jimi Hendrix.
MW: surface – describes todays music
A real artist playing a real musical instrument, into really expensive microphones in a really great studio, recording through a real Neve console onto really wide tape running really fast, or even better, direct to disk.
On the consumer side, affordable “audiophile” equipment – amplifiers using real tubes or discrete transistors. Speakers with really nice drivers mounted in real wood cabinets.
Ahh, music was so real back then…
2 u.i.: There have always been more bad albums than good and more filler tracks than worthy hits. Pull up the charts from 10-20-40 years ago and you’ll see this is true.
Of course there have always been more bad albums than good ones. But the good ones were, y’know… good! I think it speaks volumes that two of the “chart-toppers” so far this year have been Chris Daughtry and a movie soundtrack. When this is what you’re counting on to bring buyers into the stores, you have a real problem.
Once upon a time record sales were all about the singles and albums were an afterthought. A hit would have a crappy B-side track and those tracks ended up on the albums.
Yeah, and music was cheaper to buy back then. Music made a huge jump in price when CDs came out, and didn’t recover for decades, if it ever did.
The music industry dug its own hole. It seems intent on burying itself rather than climbing out.
In 1977 when I became a music consumer (with my own money) I vividly remember that albums cost between $5.95 and $8.95 (import jazz and classical). $5.95 in 1977 equates to $20.36 in 2006. Cheap deep-discount stuff was $3.95 ($13.51 roday).
In 1987 I became a CD consumer and I seem to recall that new albums were $13.98. That was a huge jump from vinyl pricing but there wasn’t much fuss since it was a new technology and relatively few albums were released on CD. $13.98 in 1987 is $24.78 today.
In real terms music has never been cheaper.
$0.99 today was $0.29 in ’77. I didn’t buy singles so I don’t know how that price compares.
Complain about quality all you want – that’s purely subjective and fun if done with good humor. There’s no basis for complaining about cost.
“MTV does not serve up talented musicians as radio once did.”
You’ve dated yourself MacRacen. MTV hasn’t been about music for 15 years.
In the age of vinyl most albums had 5-6 tracks per side and were 30 – 40 minutes total. There was the notion of “the perfect side” which meant 5 great songs in a row (there weren’t many). Any album with a perfect side was considered a great album, why bother to flip it? Now I think lots of people feel ripped off if an album has 10 tracks since they know some discs have 14 or more. Great artists of any era would have a hard time putting 14 winners in a row.
Even Sgt Pepper’s has Within You Without You.
“The music industry has been banking on the rise of digital music to compensate for inevitable drops in sales of CDs.
Nonsense. The music industry has done everything in it’s power to resist the change in business models, and now has to abandon systems rather than adapt. They refused to utilise the tools at their disposal to ride the digital wave, and are now paying the consequences. And sadly, so are consumers.
*The entire album* is the artists satement,
Please, spare us…. artists statement… What a laugh. Most of the so called artists can’t sing, few know how to play more than one instrument, and very few can string together a coherent thought, ever mind a song, much less an entire CD worth listening too.
The majority of todays “pop stars” only have to look good and know how to dance and lip sync.
Their songs are written by many someone elses, played by studio backup bands, overprocess and produced to correct the vocalists’ mistakes.
How can an ‘artist’s’ CD full of songs by many different writers and composers constitue a body of work that showcases the artists talents, and make a statement when all the ‘artist’ does is lend a face and voice to the ad campaign?
There were a few bands in the 60s, 70s, and 80s that could pull that off, and today most of the “album statement’ bodies of work are still being done by those old bands of yesteryear. Todays pre-fab facade artists don’t have what it takes. Why do you think so many of us young adult type people are raiding our parents music to find stuff thats any good?
Funny, I state my opinion, and I get:
“You asked for honesty, so go fuck yourself.”
Kinda reminds me of this quote:
“In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun
striving for ourselves.” – Siddhārtha Gautama
Anyway, I just don’t think music plummeting is related to people buying single tracks. I think their are larger forces at work.
Demographics. The baby boom is at an age where they’re not as interested in music. Sorry to say, I’m among them. Shame on the music industry for not understanding this and dealing with it years ago; knowing one’s market is one of the basics of any business.
@darknite
I agree with you that the current state of music is crap….My comment about the entire album being the artists’ statement still stands. It just so happens that pre-fab, group art project, pop bands’ statements (albums) suck.
There is still good music out there, you just have to digg waaaaaaaay deeper than ever to find it.