CD sales
I work in the supply side of the music industry (a fancy way of saying i work at music store) and CD sales figures are important to me, because it effects how many hours i get, with is directly proportional to the amount of $$$ i make. When i read today in Rolling Stone that CD sales are down across the board around 5%, it makes the wonder. The biggest drop in CD sales was Rap, with T.I.'s King selling only about a 1/3 of what 50 Cent's last CD sold in 2005, but still being the top rap seller.
Top seller over all was High School Musical OST with 3.7 million. Other top sellers were Nickelback (which was the top rock seller), Hinder, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, and Hannah Montana.
New releases from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Christina Agularia did Okay, but not near their earlier successes, all selling around with a slant towards under a million copies.
Why though are cd sales slipping? Electronic downloading, both legal and illegal? Well, possibly, but now soundscan includes electronic sales of Cds and singles in their sales charts, so Legal downloads, such as itunes, won't effect sales charts, and its hard to believe that file sharing has that big of an impact.
I just think most people can only hear the crappy stuff that gets played to death on the radio, and the fact that many of their favorite bands have taken a long hiatus, so without incentive to go to the music store on a regular basis, they fall out of the habit.
Also over saturation of marginally talented acts has probably taken a toll on people. if you get fed that a CD is great, and you buy it, realizing its shit, how likely are you to belive the next time you hear that a CD is awesome? probably less so.
record companies are defiantly to blame for their own falling sales because of their desire to make fast money, rather than developing artists that will be consistent sellers. wouldn't it be better to make 3 million each on 5 cds than 6 million on one?
Top seller over all was High School Musical OST with 3.7 million. Other top sellers were Nickelback (which was the top rock seller), Hinder, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, and Hannah Montana.
New releases from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Christina Agularia did Okay, but not near their earlier successes, all selling around with a slant towards under a million copies.
Why though are cd sales slipping? Electronic downloading, both legal and illegal? Well, possibly, but now soundscan includes electronic sales of Cds and singles in their sales charts, so Legal downloads, such as itunes, won't effect sales charts, and its hard to believe that file sharing has that big of an impact.
I just think most people can only hear the crappy stuff that gets played to death on the radio, and the fact that many of their favorite bands have taken a long hiatus, so without incentive to go to the music store on a regular basis, they fall out of the habit.
Also over saturation of marginally talented acts has probably taken a toll on people. if you get fed that a CD is great, and you buy it, realizing its shit, how likely are you to belive the next time you hear that a CD is awesome? probably less so.
record companies are defiantly to blame for their own falling sales because of their desire to make fast money, rather than developing artists that will be consistent sellers. wouldn't it be better to make 3 million each on 5 cds than 6 million on one?