Woolworths to ditch CD singles



High street chain Woolworths has said it will stop selling CD singles in its stores.

The group said that the format was in "terminal decline" and will be removed from the shelves from August.

Sales of CD singles have fallen sharply as the popularity of downloading music from the internet has increased.

However, it will continue to stock one-off releases, such as the X Factor winner, which the retailer says still sells hundreds of thousands of copies.

Sales plunge

Figures show that this year sales are a third of what they were in 2007 and the market is less than a sixth of what it was eight years ago.

78 million CD, tape and vinyl singles were bought in 1999 - the height of the physical single's popularity - but this fell to only eight million CD singles in 2007.

Jim Batchelor, Woolworths commercial director, said: "Digital downloading is now the true customer choice for listening and purchasing single music tracks.

"CDs are alive and well for album sales, but unfortunately the physical singles market is in terminal decline."

Woolworths is the UK's biggest singles' retailer and has already reduced availability in half its 820 stores.

The company has now shifted its focus to downloads and this week launched a revamped site covering music, games, video and mobile content.

Here's an idea:

Stop charging $6 for a single!

What will happen to b-sides?

B sides are a thing of the past.

2freaky4church1 said:

Not true. British bands like The Pipettes and The Long Blondes still release lots of b-sides and non-album tracks on singles. But if no store will stock singles then how will these bonus tracks get released?

They just have B-sides as iTunes exclusives now.

Ellie said:

It's hard to get UK b-sides on US iTunes.

Artists should release b-sides as downloads on their respective web pages. I think the Spice Girls had every track on every one of their CD singles released available as an MP3 on their site.

I am happy I stopped collecting music some years ago, otherwise I would be heart-broken now .

the argument was that CD singles hurt album sales, well that is and always was BULL. It all depends on the Product you are offering, come to NYC and go to Record Runner or Rebel Rebel and these stores Exist and THRIVE on the sale of Cd singles from artists from the UK and american artists who release in the UK. Cd single sales hurt album sales if your Rick Ross or J Holiday or Young Jeezy, also the MORONIC way iTunes does things like selling every track on an album for 99 cents really is exactly why they are killing themselves.

simple, the CD's would have sold if it wasn't already FREE online. CD singles can only help sell an LP, not decrease sales, however, buying full albums are almost a thing of the past. How many times have you paid overpriced $'s for a full CD only to find a few good songs? Singles is it.

I hear Napster's back in the game.
[Edited 5/27/08 16:13pm]

Dang!!!

Woolworth's are still around??

sextonseven said:

Well, with those massively known artists still supporting B-Sides, there's no way the B-Side will disappear.

Haystack said:

Sarcasm aside, b-sides will disappear when vinyl does. And vinyl sales have increased the last few years.

funkpill said:

That's what I was thinking In my area,we don't even have Woolworth's anymore.These stores closed down many years ago.

SoulAlive said:

I don't remember Woolworth's being a big music seller when there were still stores in the states.

sextonseven said:

yeah....They did


I found a Graham Central Station album there ....sure did!!
[Edited 5/27/08 19:03pm]

SoulAlive said:

That's what I was thinking and then I remembered seeing it in England. I had to take a picture of it. Once Woolworths closed, it was all downhill from there with the closing of favorite stores. Man that was paradise in a child's eyes.

funkpill said:

That's what i say. Shit i haven't seen a woolworth in
my city in damn near two decades.

funkyslsistah said:

True i had an orgasm in high school when my mom bought me an atari
from woolworth.

phunkdaddy said:

.....Delmar: We were beat up by a bible salesman, and banished from Woolworths..I don't know Everett?, was it the one branch or all of them. ~ "O' Brother Where Art Thou"


We use to have both Woolworths/Woolco stores in my area up until the early 80's.

Woolworths in the UK is like the equivalent of Wall-Mart. There's one on every small high street. In small towns where they don't have a proper specialist music store, there's always a Woolies.

Ellie said:

wouldn't ASDA in the UK be the equivalent of walmart seeing as they own them?. I Hate Woolies, what a shithole. Every one i've ever been in is a mess, the music, DVD sections are so disorganised. I'm suprised they sell a damn thing.

I did pick up Madonna's confessions tour album/DVD for a fiver, that was a decent buy.

Not bought a CD single in about ten years tho.

Asda is just a cheap supermarket. They may be owned by Walmart but they're hardly the same type of store.

sextonseven said:

Agreed. I think CD singles don't do well here in the states but do well elsewhere. IMO I think that the record companie don't know how to market the single anymore..radio, sales or otherwise.

AlexdeParis said:

Ya knoooow!!!

Its a nerve to preach against downloading when you're committing daylight robbery.

Harlepolis said:

TAWK!!!

Yeah but what about them Maxi Singles with a whole lotta different mixes on 'em?

A lotta times the album track still turns out to be the best one but sometimes you hit real paydirt.

I'd hate to see maxis go extinct.
[Edited 5/28/08 12:02pm]

Hell, I didn't know CD singles still exist. Or Woolworth's either for that matter.

Even longer than that in my area. It closed in the year 1980. Wait a minute...that was Woolco. As for Woolworth, I barely remember the name in my area but can't remember the location of the store so that had to be the early 1970s.

funkpill said:

You took the words right outta my mouth. They closed here in Detroit YEARS ago.