Universal to test $10 albums

[GA Russell]

Here's a New York Times article that says that Universal will sell throughout 2010 CDs for $10. It says that "deluxe" CDs will sell for more, but it doesn't define "deluxe".

SoundScan says that CD sales are half what they were in 2000, and Universal thinks that is because the price is too high.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/business/media/19music.html?ref=media

[Chalupa]

They should have done this 10 years ago.

[A Lark Ascending]

I buy mainly downloads now - I'm paying half what I did 5 years ago, sometimes considerably less.

[porcy62]

They should have done this 10 years ago.

15 years ago

[JETman]

They should have done this 10 years ago.

They did this about 5 years ago for a short time. Things like Verve LPR's were selling for about $7 list.

[Shawn]

I heard about this earlier in the week, if it was 2002 it might have made an impact. Now it's a tad late I think.

[Chuck Nessa]

Indie labels can't compete with $10 Miles, etc reissues. No way to make it work. X number of folks will buy cd reissue #6 of a "major artist" before trying something different.

Currently artists are recording sessions to be paid in discs to sell on the gig - they rely on the good humor of band members with the implied impression of playing on their next session. All this to sell 400 copies. Even this practice is at an end. I have received offers from very fine "name" artists with nothing asked. Things be fucked.

Edited March 19, 2010 by Chuck Nessa

[Shrdlu]

$10 CDs aren't new at all.

There hasn't been any money in CDs for ages now. The money (what there is of it) is in concerts and club dates.

[David Ayers]

Am I alone in being past caring about CDs? There is such a glut of reissues and new releases. I know we are heavily into the question of ownership on this board, and on the right of copyright holders to realise value in the works they have commissioned or leased. We should remember that the glut of recent issues is caused by artists being eager to make releases without getting paid properly. So really artists are competing with each other to record for little or nothing. That is because it is only major artists who realise any reveneue from CD sales, for the rest a CD is a calling card, and a way of going 'on record' and putting it out there (a vanity project, in other words). So for people who are interested in minor music, as we here mainly are, and setting aside the question of collecting (which is pretty dominant on this board and is a different matter, though some seem believe they are supporting the mainly now dead artists rather than just feeding an obsession) then does the contraction of the recorded music market matter to *us*? Not to me - there's much more of what I want than I have money or time for.

[Hardbopjazz]

Universal betting on lower prices to boost CD sales

Universal Music Group (UMG) is embarking on one of the most ambitious efforts yet to boost U.S. CD sales, with the test of a new pricing structure designed to sell most new releases by current artists at $10 or less at retail.

The major's "Velocity" pricing program responds to the continuing plunge in CD sales, taking aim at brick-and-mortar retail stores that have scaled back on floor space dedicated to music. The pricing adjustments will also bring CD prices more in line with what consumers pay for digital albums at online retailers like iTunes and Amazon.

"We think it will really bring new life into the physical format," Universal Music Group Distribution chairman/CEO Jim Urie says.

Universal, which accounts for 28.7 percent of year-to-date U.S. album sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan, will cut UMG's main wholesale price point of $10.35 to about $7.50 or less for front-line releases, which are generally by established current artists. It's also breaking with prevailing industry practice by putting suggested retail prices on CDs, ranging from $6 to $10.

article

[GA Russell]

Thanks for that link, Hbj. Interesting that the exec from Newbury Comics should be quoted.

I think the most important concept other than lower prices is that the price of the hardcopy will be about the same as the price of the digital. This is a big topic in the eBook publishing industry.