No matter where you look you see the same dismal numbers - sales of CDs are down 50% since 2000, and down 15% just this year alone. "The CD is over." "The CD is dead." "Nobody buys CDs anymore." The writing is on the wall; at some point in time, the sales of CDs will be right down there in the depths of inconsequential sales with cassette tapes.But not quite yet. There will still 350 million CDs sold this year. Let me say that again. "There will be 350 MILLION CDs sold this year." Someone's still buying those suckers.
And one of the reasons why they're still selling is that some sanity has finally come into the market. With the price now between $6 to slightly less than $10, people don't feel ripped off if they buy something with only a few good songs anymore.
Yes, album sales are declining, but that goes for digital downloads as well. If people aren't buying an album, it's more a factor of the music than the price these days.
So don't fear the CD. Make it a part of your sales arsenal, but don't buy a couple of thousand and have to worry about the up-front costs and inventory. Use a service like Kunaki and buy just what you need.
Don't forget, it's still easier to get a magazine or blog review with a CD than a digital download.
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2 comments:
Although it's a major change in the delivery method we're used to, I'm actually quite happy to see physical mediums for media distribution go the way of the dodo.
I realize that a physical product can offer a sense of tangibility for the end-user, but if we supplant physical distribution with digital, we save a whole lot of useless shipping/fuel/plastic/ink etc.
With rapidly converging internet and home theater technologies, we have an amazing opportunity to make the media we consume available anywhere we want it, whenever we want it, with zero distribution or manufacturing costs. That's a great thing imho.
A musician has no right to say what format is dead - it's up to the fans. As an old school metal head, I find that my pocket niche still craves the physical product.
With an on demand service like Kunaki, I can and will sell physical CDS to one person at a time, if that's what it takes to keep the fans happy & interested!
Just because the industry has gone full blown digital, doesn't mean all your fans have!
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