In early 2006, Apple made a big deal out of the fact that its iTunes music store had sold its billionth song after three years of business. No one noticed, though, when in July of this year, iTunes crossed yet another threshold; it had sold more than three billion songs. In just over a year, the digital music giant sold two billion songs and surpassed Amazon.com and Target to become the third largest music seller in the United States.
This year also marked the first significant dip in CD sales; as the Wall Street Journal reported, while sales have been on a steady decline for years, CD sales for the first three months of 2007 were down 20% compared to that time a year before.
In this new era of iPods, iTunes and peer-to-peer downloading, such a significant dip in sales begs the question: Is the CD dead?
One common explanation for abysmal sales numbers is that after 25 years, technology is simply progressing toward newer formats. The recording industry had its heyday in the 1990s, when CDs were heralded as an amazing, compact way to store more music – a more practical alternative to 8-tracks and cassettes. And before that there were vinyl records.
“I think it’s naturally running its course. We’re looking at over 20 years now that (CDs) have been around, and time’s just catching up to them,” said Greg Sutherland, a record buyer for local music store House of Records.
For today’s music buyers, digital is the way to go. Whether legally or illegally, many people are turning to the Internet for their music. College students in particular seem to be turning to the Web for quick and easy downloading.
“If you (download music online), you can do it from home whenever you feel like it, and it’s already on your computer instead of having to upload the CD,” freshman Genevieve Handloser said. Handloser mostly downloads her music legally from iTunes, and the only time she buys a CD is if she knows that she likes an artist’s entire body of work.
“The Internet has allowed consumers to do their shopping online, and also…to download one particular song instead of the whole CD,” said Matt Geiss, a sales manager at the Springfield Best Buy store. “It’s just the way that consumers are changing their buying patterns. They’re being more selective.”
As a result of these new selective consumers, retailers that sell only CDs are finding it difficult to stay afloat.
Many music stores, like national chain Sam Goody as well as a number of local stores, have been closing in recent years. One local store, House of Records, has managed to stay open – and Sutherland credits that in part to the store’s vinyl record sales.
“There’s a lot of people out there who don’t want to see vinyl…die. They want to have their music in their hands,” he said. “Music sounds better on an LP. It doesn’t necessarily sound better on a CD, and that’s why I think the CD is suffering.”
House of Records sells both new and used vinyl, and Sutherland says he’s seen vinyl sales increasing in recent years, especially among young buyers.
“The last two years, I’ve seen more college students than I’ve seen in the last decade. It surprises me, but it’s nice to have them back,” he said. “I’ve had kids come in and say, ‘Yeah, I listened to music on someone’s iPod and then I heard it on a record, and the sound was incredibly different.’”
Sutherland added that vinyl is being produced in larger quantities now, and that turntables are selling in record numbers.
“I hesitate to call it a fad because it’s been around so long. It never went away,” he said.
Geiss thinks that CDs will probably have a similar staying power.
“It’s got a long ways to go before CDs are totally eliminated from the market. Just think about how long it took to transition from VHS to DVD,” he said. ” I don’t think they’ll ever stop making CDs. At least not in my lifetime.”
But if this year has been any indication – the recording industry has seen its lowest-selling No. 1 records in years – change is happening whether the industry is ready for it or not.
Whether history is moving into the digital age or simply repeating itself, the CD is becoming a thing of the past. It’s not dead yet, but it doesn’t have far to go.
[email protected]
Put your CDs to work
If you’ve got a bunch of old CDs lying around, here are some ways to make them useful again:
? Turn them into art. CDs can make interesting wall art or hanging art when strung together. Or try putting them in the microwave for a short time to achieve a crackled look.
?Recycle them. The EMU has a bin for unwanted CDs near the computer lab. Dispose of them here instead of throwing them away.
?Digitize them. Media Services in the Knight Library offers an audio dubbing room where you can transfer, edit and mix music from one medium to another.