The LATimes.com has an article that pretty much describes the current entertaiment industry. While there are a lot of people are buying games and DVDs there are less and less people to buy CDs.
The article mentions that DVDs are better quality and lots of times also cheaper. Besides that they have nicer packaging and contain extra's that seems to be very liked by consumers, while CDs are still the way overpriced little discs:
So why are movies and video games booming while the music business, pop culture's trend-setter of the past several decades, is in such a funk? The people who run record companies gloomily blame the Internet. But if you ask music and movie lovers, you get a very different answer. Consumers adore DVDs, which offer cool packaging and lots of interactive extras; they loathe CDs, which they say are grossly over-priced and padded with filler. |
Pocketbook issues have a lot to do with DVDs' ascension. Two years ago, most new DVDs were priced between $25 and $30. Now new DVDs sell for $19.95, with hundreds of older movies going for $9.95 and $14.95. But even though music sales are down, the record companies aren't cutting prices-- in fact some CD prices have, if anything, gone up.
New CDs by everyone from Britney Spears to System of a Down go for $17.99, with older CDs selling for $14 or $15. The only CDs that regularly sell for $9.99 or 11.99 are by little-known new artists. When I walked through Best Buy the other day, I was amazed to discover that the DVDs for "Austin Powers" and "Rush Hour" cost exactly the same as the movies' CD soundtracks.
Also intresting is the statement of a chairman of Universal in the article who litterally says: "We tend to ask how can we make more money and sell more product, not deal with consumer gripes." . Well if that is the way you business, you should not be suprised by lower sales.
What I find really intresting is altough CD sales are still good, are they currently becoming like the audio tapes in 90's ?
Source: Latimes.com
