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Despite every major record label’s best efforts to keep the compact disc holy, analysts are predicting 2008 will see the “worst [sales] decline in the history of the CD.” According to The Guardian, Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield has reported CD units sales are down this quarter an estimated 27% from 2007. “Q408 is shaping up to be the worst decline in the history of the CD,” his assessment concludes.
A study from CL King & Associates paints a similarly bleak picture for radio. Analyst Jim Boyle writes that American radio revenue has dropped 7% in 2008, the biggest decline since 1954. Is it time to draw dramatic parallels between McCarthyism and the digital revolution? Perhaps not. Giving little hope for the future, Boyle wrote, “October [2008] was the 18th consecutive negative year-over-year revenue month and 2008 is the eighth straight struggling year.”
Amaravi says...
the industry needs to get with the times and move on to te digital age
lfitz says...
My brother works for a music label and they are at an all time low as well. They made a couple of people redundant last week. There is alot of worried people out there!
cheechvda says...
dowloading is the death of labels
bussyboy says...
More than anything else - it's the end of ALBUM ART! Nooooo!
Impulsory says...
y2k :O
bakeraus says...
I think it's also the price of cd's in Australia. $30 ! c'mon they have been taking customers for a ride for a long time.
matzta73 says...
The music industry is falling on its own sword (suck eggs), before CDs arrived I use to be able to buy a vynl record for $18 in the 80's. Then the music industry decided to charge $30 for a CD? it was all about GREED, bring on the digital era...
brenly says...
i was having a very deep conversation with a mate at armin only about this. in a way, illegal downloading has actually helped the industry. artists want to make money, but from the decline of cd sales they have had to step up their game with live performances and shows. from here only the true artists will shine through. that being said, i will continue to buy tool albums - their album art is nice!
larrisajones says...
this does actaually work in favour of record companies - to a degree. Not making CD's cuts a whole bunch of costs to make 'em (polycarbonate, ink, paper, cases, phillips royalties etc etc etc), and to sell 'em (shipping, warehousing, POS promotions). In the old days a lot of big retailers had sale or return policies with the labels so if something didn't sell the label would have to pick up all the stock and replace with new stuff that actually might sell. moving to download means it costs jack to get the music in market and whatever they make on the digital file is pure profit for label/artist
Paul-lee says...
if all the artists have realised that to make money they need to have better live shows and more of them, shouldnt that prompt them to reduce the royalties that they receive from CD sales? which would mean that it would be a lot cheaper to buy their CD's from retailers. Everyone keeps on saying how greedy the labels are... $100 for a ticket to see a show, seems like a bit of a rip over $25 for a new cd. illegal downloading is not only the death of labels but the artists, retailers and music industry aswell
ADSA says...
don't remember the last time i bought a cd. But i buy tracks of Beatport all the time. Industry needs to get realize that CD's may not be obsolete but they are on the way out!
mr_doobi says...
why dont they just make cds CHEAPER?????????
FLOW LAB says...
maybe cd's are $30 if you buy from somewhere like Sanity but i rarely pay that much...still $30 for years of an artists work, with thousands of dollars of funding and time put into it is a fucking great price! Downloads mean you have no tangible object which is a let down for people who want to present their album as a full package. The reason you pay so much for festival tickets is because it costs a fortune fly people over to Perth!!! Festivals costs more than you would think to run and the profit margin isn't as big as you would think either.
sang says...
record stores should have digital download stations where you choose a whole bunch of songs you want, then it presses out a CD or USB stick or allows you to download it to your iPod. Record Labels can each have their own station, that way they control marketing and promotion of their artists and music.
bakeraus says...
You can't even listen to a CD in a store now. I think the industry is killing itself. For a $16.99 CD in the states. This is the cost and profit breakdown for a typical CD: Manufacturer's Costs: Recording expense: $.065 Manufacturing expense: $1.25 Packaging: $1.30 Advertising and promotion: $2.00 Artist's royalty: $1.60 Freight: $0.09 Payment to musician's trust fund: $0.65 Manufacturer's Profit: $2.94 Distributor's expenses and profit: $1.50 Retailer's expenses and profit: $5.00 TOTAL: $16.98 These figures would change due to which country your in of course. I usually buy Aussie hip hop CDs at around $20-$25 which I don't mind paying cos they can't afford to eat or make a living off their sales.
the avatar says...
beatport.com
SHARKBOY1 says...
cd sales are going down and will continue to do so, what we will begin to see is different strategies used by record companies, ie beatport, i tunes and new alternatives like USB drives which MOS have just released with the 2009 annual, there is also a new option called DDA which Sneaky sound system