Broken records

Acts to grind
Downloads continue to erode CD sales and hurt retailers
By Dave Tianen of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Mar. 18, 2009
http://www.jsonline.com/e...40677.html


Signs of music's hard times are everywhere. Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Borders have cut back on the floor space devoted to recorded music. Tower Records and Sam Goody have gone bust.

The Exclusive Company, a Wisconsin-based chain that is one of the oldest independent music stores in the country, now has eight surviving stores, down from a peak of 11; it has shuttered its stores in Brookfield and Brown Deer. To compensate for the falloff in CD sales, the chain has put added emphasis on vinyl and DVDs.

Summerfest entertainment director Bob Babisch says the emerging business model simply may be to give the music away since most young people won't pay for it anyway.

"If you listen to managers at any seminar, they're saying, 'Just get the music out there. Just get online. Just give it away. Get your music into people's hands, because they're going to pirate it, anyway.' "

Big record companies have lost much of their allure to established artists. This year, Prince announced plans to release three new albums March 29 through Target without benefit of a record company.

Increasingly, major albums are being released through exclusive deals with major retailers. The prodigiously delayed "Chinese Democracy" album from Guns N' Roses finally appeared last fall as a Best Buy exclusive. Christina Aguilera's new and first greatest-hits collection is a Target exclusive.

With about half of all American teens no longer buying CDs, the consumer profile of the industry has gotten younger and older. Last summer, Neil Diamond had the first No. 1 album of his career, "Home Before Dark." On the other end of the age spectrum, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and the "High School Musical" soundtracks have been an oasis of prosperity.

The problem is that all those middle-age and tween buyers are larger slices of a much diminished pie. Sales totals that once would have put an album at No. 25 on the Billboard 200 now top the chart. Stephanie Huff, marketing and general manager for the Exclusive Company, explains that sales are now spread out over many titles, including catalog pieces.

Who suggested it was? 3121 was only 3 years ago.

But more importantly (broken record alert), I don't really care. As long as I enjoy these new albums, I'll be happy.

i don't think he has a lot to worry about. didn't planet earth even debut in the top 10? his albums have been debuting high in the charts since musicology. and heck, the album before that got nominated for a grammy. he's doing just fine.

as long as he is dipping his pennies in olive oil... he'll always be a dime.


scatter

There better be more Target stores than Starbucks if he wants a shot at number 1.

GoldiesParade said:

i think there are more target stores in minnesota alone than there are starbucks in the entire united states.



i might be wrong on that. but just by a fraction.

i know of only 3 targets in my area...

Sdldawn said:

i swear, two just opened in our front porch. i think one of them is a supertarget.

thecloud said:

well, nothing is stopping people from selling used copies to indie wrecka stows. of course, how much cheaper is a used copy of a 3CD album gonna be than the original retail price of 12 bucks?

Anxiety said:

ya know, McCartney did the starbucks thing.. but it was also available in every other outlet also..

i kindof wish he had a simular layout.. simply because i myself has never been one to go to target for music..

Anxiety said:

There are 1685 Target stores in the US, and 11,000 Starbucks. Your fraction is somewhat out.

I'd say a number one is the last thing on his mind, Surely too-with all the ways to buy it-Target, Lotusflow3r, Amazon (or not-!) and lord knows how many more 'deals' are being done-how would all these 'sales' count. Are all these transactions counted. How many are gonnna download-then buy a physical copy.....Probably most of us lol. So I'd hope he's more bothered with rehersals and booking the Indigo again,,,,,P-L-E-A-S-E

3121 went to #1 even without being available on iTunes. Planet Earth debuted at #3. At the very least, I think he's guaranteed a top 3 debut, but with the Tonight Show promo, possibly 3 new videos premiering and depending on other big names that week, a #1 debut is quite possible.

I don't think Prince cares if he gets a number 1 album, really he does just fine with his fanbase. Now that he owns all the rights to his music he benefits even more.

He's in a great place in his career now where he can do, musically, whatever he wants and own the rights to it, and he's having his best chart run in well over a decade. Musicology reached no.3, 3121 went to no.1, and Planet Earth also reached no.3. With just a bit of promotion he can still snag a top ten album fairly easily. I think Lotusflow3r is a lock for the top ten, and could possibly wind up at number one. It's biggest competition that week will be from Keith Urban. I'm a long-time chart watcher and I love this period of his career. High chart statistics don't make the music any better or worse, but it's fun seeing him do well, especially on his own terms.

And at this point, Prince isn't competing, chart-wise, with the newer acts. He's now in competition with the all-time greats for chart records and that's why I love this commercial renaissance he's had. He's climbing his way up the all-time lists of artists with the most charted albums, most top tens, most number ones. I'm not saying an album has to perform well to be good ('Come' and 'The Rainbow Children' are great records that tanked) but it's exciting to see him taking his place among the all-time chart leaders.

Sdldawn said:

hell

GoldiesParade said:

Target just opened in DC last march. Before that city-dwellers had to trek the uncharted territories of suburbia.

Sdldawn said:

Ive never bought a CD at starbucks... i've been tempted once or twice, but generally when I go to starbucks im slightly pissed about how much money i'm paying for my double tall soy latte so purchasing something else never crosses my mind.

lezama said:

i wanted to buy the sonic youth compilation thingie that was released through starbucks, but no location i went to ever had it in stock.

other than that, there's been nothing at starbucks i ever wanted.

i still enjoy buyin my music at best buy.. i like the set up i guess

lezama said:

I dare you to come out here to uncharted Silver Spring and repeat that.
[Edited 3/19/09 21:07pm]

Anxiety said:

I couldn't find it either!

CJBabyDaddy said:

I actually like SS. I just live in an area where having a car is kinda cumbersome and don't like spending an hour on the metro.
[Edited 3/21/09 8:34am]

i don't think it's a priority for Prince now...if it happened in the future, great, many more would be exposed to his music...but, his artistic freedom comes first, and it's good that 'mainstream' media is still interested in Prince

It will hit the top ten, then dive off fairly soon.

24 to 54 year olds buy cds still, but he tries to still make music that kids will like. Note 2 Prince: kids are fickle, they will not like you because they would be made fun of by their idiot friends.

Best that you go back to making mature music.

PEJ said:

that explains the bragging on his website when '3121' debuted at #1.