2/3s of All Albums Purchased In the US Are Still CDs

[UNORTHODOX]

Just sharing the wealth.. OG article here

The flat, clunky, physical CD isn't going anywhere, at least not in 2012. According to year-2011 breakdowns just shared by Nielsen Soundscan, more than two-thirds of all albums purchased in the US were physical CDs. Out of a total of 330.6 million albums sold during the year - across all configurations - a healthy 223.5 million were discs, or 67.6 percent.

That follows an even more extreme breakdown from the UK. Just a few days ago, label group BPI revealed that 76.1 percent of all albums purchased last year were CDs.

Back in the US, album unit sales edged slightly upward on the year, specifically by 1.3 percent. CDs themselves slumped 5.7 percent, while digital albums gained a healthy 19.5 percent to reach a record 103.1 million units. Vinyl gained 36.3 percent to nearly 4 million units, and cassette sales were negligible.

 

[dacalion]

I recently read about this same topic in Music Tech Mag. CD's just sound so much better than mp3's.

 

[UNORTHODOX]

I recently read about this same topic in Music Tech Mag. CD's just sound so much better than mp3's.

Absolutely! That and having a physical product in your hands has yet to be beaten

 

[dacalion]

Exactly! but wait until dp sees this...lol.

 

[UNORTHODOX]

Hahaha I already know. havent had a debate in a while, so I look forward to it lol

 

[thedreampolice]

ha ha, well first off all I am a vinyl nut. But second that article is bunk, those are only the UK numbers. In the us and worldwide digital is bigger than CD sales and by then end of this year the major labels will no longer be making CD's so the writing is on the wall.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/247436/see_ya_cds_digital_music_sales_overtake_physical_media.html

and more data

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-Nielsen-Company-Billboard-bw-3137090198.html

 

[UNORTHODOX]

Its not UK only, it shows US specifically. The label are losing their foot hold. A lot more indies are moving units more than you give'em credit for. Are you signed to a major? How does their actions affect you? You give directly to fans at shows, so not having physical disks on hand is negligence and allowing $$ to fly out the window.

Also, don't confuse digital's downloads as sales, most music is still given away. But most of the music sold, still is a CD. What the labels are about to do wont change what the people want.

Side Convo: Vinyl saw a rise in sales as well, I wouldn't mind doing a vinyl only release or 2. Would be cool, just not feasible right now.