Hayo used our newssubmit to tell us about an article on Yahoo that learns us that even albums of populair artists are currently getting cheaper at the moment. This because most of the major music companies are starting to offer retailers limited-time rebates on some releases.
This makes that you can buy for 10$ albums of e.g Ashanti, Vanessa Carlton, P. Diddy and Bruce Springsteen. The record companies do this because they now also think that lower prices might help their sales:
''There's a good deal of panic in the recorded music business,'' says investor Strauss Zelnick, who used to run Bertelsmann's BMG music arm. |
Sales of albums and singles are off 11% this year following a drop of 10% in 2001 and 7% in 2000. Only 21 albums sold more than 1 million units in the first half of this year vs. 37 albums during the period in 2001.
Lower prices may at least stop the bleeding.
But that's tough for executives to admit. It calls into question their long-held belief that CDs are not only fairly priced but a good value.
The Recording Industry Association of America ( news - web sites) (RIAA) likes to remind people that most albums lose money after you factor in artist royalties and marketing. What's more, a study it recently commissioned found that if CD prices had grown as much as inflation since they rolled out in 1983, they'd now be $38.23.
So $14.70 should be seen as a bargain.
Unfortunately I haven't seen the cheap CDs yet, and it's still not the solution, but I think it's a good sign the recording industry finally understands that the prices are currently too high! More information can be found here.
Source: Yahoo.com
