http://www.nypost.com/sev...166384.htm

Best Buy is giving vinyl a spin.

The consumer-electronics giant, which happens also to be the third-largest music seller behind Apple's iTunes and Wal-Mart, is considering devoting eight square feet of merchandising space in all of its 1,020 stores solely to vinyl, which would equate to just under 200 albums, after a test in 100 of its stores around the country proved successful.

Though vinyl represents less than 5 percent of Best Buy's music sales, the format is growing while CD sales continue to shrink.

Vinyl sales grew 15 percent year-over-year in 2007 and 89 percent in 2008, making the 1.9 million vinyl albums purchased last year the most since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. This year is shaping up to be even better, with 670,000 vinyl albums sold through mid-April.

By contrast, CD sales have fallen at a roughly 20 percent clip for the past few years.

To be sure, the growth in vinyl, even when combined with digital sales, isn't enough to offset the decline in CD sales. But it does show that consumers haven't abandoned the physical format.

And the fact that a retailer of Best Buy's size is willing to expand vinyl offerings is an incremental positive for the beleaguered music industry. A typical Best Buy store features about 16 square feet to 20 square feet of music merchandise and displays about 8,000 CDs.

"Our goal is to occupy as much square footage as possible with music products," said Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, whose personal vinyl collection numbers more than 300,000, making it one of the largest private collections in the world.

Hoping to capitalize on the renewed interest in vinyl, all of the major record labels have combed through their catalogs to remaster and re-release marquee titles with their original artwork and packaging -- both of which are essential elements for the vinyl consumer.

For instance, EMI in September 2008 launched its "From the Capitol Vaults" vinyl initiative with such titles as The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," Jimi Hendrix's "Band of Gypsies," and Radiohead's "OK Computer."

Compared with a CD, vinyl costs more to make and retails for a higher price -- $22.95 vs. around $13.99 for a CD -- but has lower margins.

Both Kallman and Jason Boyd, EMI's senior director of catalog sales, said profits made from vinyl were acceptable enough to warrant producing the format.

The situation is the reverse for Best Buy. Chris Smith, the company's senior music merchant, said margins on vinyl sales are "healthy enough" to mitigate the risk that comes along with not being able to return unsold inventory like it can with CDs.

it sounds like a cool idea but im guessing the selection will be horrible

yeah I wanna see what titles they will have.

Bringing in vinyl means absolutely nothing if the music recorded onto the vinyl is a bunch of bullshit.

Well at least they are doing something a lil out of the norm but my local Best Buy always carried vinyl even though it's mostly 12 in singles,

Vinyl is more expensive than CDs though, so its a bit mindboggling why sales would be increase for the more expensive form.
[Edited 4/29/09 14:24pm]

suga10 said:

I find that funny too.

Best Buy (at least the one in my area) only carries the most current and most popular. I only shop at Best Buy when I want to buy some DVDs of old television series. The last time I was in Best Buy, I browsed through the CDs on my way out. I had a taste that day for either some Wham or some Judas Priest. Best Buy had neither and for a record store not to carry an old group that was as popular as Wham, you know that store ain't shit. I couldn't believe it. I even asked some of the clerks if maybe I was overlooking it and they didn't know what the hell I was talking about and had never heard of Wham. You would have thought I was looking for some Ebonee Webb or something.

This is great news!

In terms of what they offer, we'll just have 2 see...

Now that I user Serato Scratch Live to spin - I am back to buying CD's or downloading. The only vinyl I buy nowadays is the stuff not available on CD - like old obscure albums and 12" mixes.

For those wondering what Serato is... It is a software and hardware combo that makes all your digital files readable by a piece of "control vinyl". As a DJ - no more carrying heavy crates of records. I just need two control vinyl's and my laptop (plus i-pod) and I'm ready to go.

On another note, they maybe bringing in Limited Edition Vinyl, very LIMITED is the key word, they are also phasing out ALOT of catalogs of older artists, they are losing money BIG TIME on cds, and they are just cutting back. Right now the only place showing profit in Music sales of any form is Amazon.Com

My Best Buy currently has "No Line on the Horizon", "Appetite For Destruction", and "Viva la Vida" on vinyl. Bring it back, I say!