Guest wwF1587 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 credit AOL.com LOS ANGELES (Sept.4) - Universal Music Group, whose roster of artists includes 50 Cent, U2, Elton John and Diana Krall, will cut the price of its wholesale CDs and push for a $12.98 retail cap on its discs in an attempt to woo music fans back into record stores. The world's largest recording company hopes retailers, who have suffered as industrywide music sales dropped 31 percent the last three years, will follow its lead and pass on the savings to consumers. Universal hopes the actual retail price of most of its CD will end up about $10 or less, comparable to the $9.99 retail price that music fans enjoyed in the early 1990s, at the height of a price war between the recording companies. ''Our new pricing model will enable U.S. retailers to offer music at a much more appealing price point in comparison to other entertainment products,'' said Jim Urie, president of Universal Music & Video Distribution. ''We are confident this pricing approach will drive music fans back into retail stores.'' If retailers also drop their prices, Universal's move would make CDs more competitive with online services, including Apple Computer Inc.'s popular iTunes Music Store and Buy.com's BuyMusic.com. It was not immediately clear how retailers would respond to the move. Company officials said they had not discussed the pricing strategy with retailers, who would be notified formally on Thursday. Kevin Milligan, vice president of merchandising at Torrance, Calif.-based record retailer Wherehouse Entertainment Inc., said he had not received notice from Universal, but that in general, the move is good news for consumers. ''Whether it will ultimately be good news for retail? I think it's still up in the air,'' he said. Officials at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers did not return calls Wednesday. Officials at EMI, BMG and Warner Music Group declined to comment; Sony Music Group officials could not be reached. Universal's current wholesale price for a CD album is $12.02, with a manufacturer suggested retail price of $18.98. Under the new pricing structure, the wholesale price would be $9.09. The wholesale price for CDs by a handful of performers, including Eminem and Shania Twain, would be about a dollar more, said Jim Urie, president of Universal Music & Video Distribution. The company also said it would cut wholesale prices on cassettes and change the suggested retail price to $8.98. Latin recordings and multiple disk packages or CD box sets would not be included in the pricing change. The price changes would go into effect by Oct. 1. The decision to cut prices underscores how badly the industry has been hurting, said Josh Bernoff, an analyst with Forrester Research, Inc. ''That's basically saying 'we give up','' Bernoff said. Revenue from album sales has declined from $14.6 billion in 1999 to $12.6 billion in 2002, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group that represents the largest recording companies. The recording industry blames its sales slump largely on illegal music swapping over peer-to-peer networks and is expected to take legal action against hundreds of suspected file-swappers this month. But industry critics say the record companies have, for more than a decade, ignored the effects of soaring CD prices on sales. They also contend the artistic quality of music has deteriorated. ''This is something that the industry has failed to address ... You could make downloading music go away tomorrow and the industry would still face challenges,'' said Sean Baenen, managing director of Odyssey, a consumer marketing research firm in San Francisco. ''All the data suggests that quality and price are major factors to the equation.'' AP-NY-09-04-03 0453EDT Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B. Brian Brunzell 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 That works for me. Cheaper cd prices are good. I never DL stuff anyway, so it saves me a few bucks. PLus, I'm all about supporting the artist, hence my lack of DLing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaParkaYourCar 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Hey I'm all for it. Cheaper CD's sounds good to me. Now if only WWE would drop the prices of their PPV's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 If it's a band that I want to support, I'll buy it at the cheaper price. Otherwise... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 cheaper CD's for probably the newer CD's that are just released. What are the costs for CD's dating back 10, 20, 30, even 40 years ago? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 CD's weren't around 30 or 40 years ago. I think they came about in the 80's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 i mean the prices of the albums that were released 30-40 years ago, that are on CD's. Didn't really clarify it that well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NoCalMike 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 LOL@ "dropping from 14.6 billion to 12.6 billion" Well, BOOOO FUCKING HOO. I like the idea. I am not an AVID downloader anyway. I mostly download songs from artists that I only enjoy a song or two from not entire cds or anything. And I STILL won't pay the money for a cd if I only want 1 song. Maybe record stores should come up with a system where you can mix&match songs of YOUR CHOICE and they have the equipment to do this. Then charge a decent price for it. That could cut into downloading, because if Corporations just have top of the line equipment compared to households, you could get better quality music. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Fuck Em. I buy my Albums at 6.99 anyways and the record companies can't touch it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justsoyouknow 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Used CD stores all the way. Although, if CDs were cheaper to start with, I know that I'd buy new CDs more often. It's a great idea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Used CD shows are the shit indeed... You can buy a 3 month old album for 9.99 and they have special deals for customers... You can find the rarest cd's there and they will buy your cd's/dvds/games and shit... Who honestly would go to Best Buy when you got Used Cd stores... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justsoyouknow 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Plus, most of the time they run those "Buy x amount of CDs, get one free (or half off)" deals, so they can't be beat. Only problem with them is that you run the risk of the CD that you're looking for not being there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted September 5, 2003 They have a Waiting list at some of the stores... So if you want that Elton John Collection Series...they will call you the second it comes in! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Doyo Report post Posted September 5, 2003 One thing that has to be a factor in declining album sales, that I never see mentioned, is DVDs. Tons of classic movies can be picked up on DVD for 5-12 dollars. Any classic music CD is usually going to run at least $13.99. Something is wrong when you can buy the 8Mile DVD for less than the soundtrack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 I won't believe this until I see the results, it only seems that a select few will get the price drop. I want to see if the mall stores will sell new release cds at below $15 the 1st week its available. I have seen David Banner at $9.99 today but that is a rare deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted September 5, 2003 It's david banner fer christ sakes...It should be sold in the Dollar Store Bargain Bin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steviekick 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Used CD's are the way to go. As for why CDs are cheaper their first week, here's why: - Record labels try to sell all their available copies of the new record (at a lower price)to their distributor, who in turn sells them at a reduced price to the record stores. - Before the release date, the record label tries to aggressively promote the album. - Thanks to the lower price, the retailer then sells the album. The retailer will then go to reorder the album. Based on the sales of the album (meaning if it sells well), the label/distributor will then sell the album wholesale for a higher cost to the retailer. The stinky part about the music industry is that retailers cannot return copies back to the distributer the majority of the time. That's why you see retailers stuck with so many copies of the last Korn album. It's first week sales were pretty good so they reordered a bunch, but they didn't increase and wound up paving the walls with Untouchables. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 It's david banner fer christ sakes...It should be sold in the Dollar Store Bargain Bin. David Banner does have one good single and Lil Jon makes an apperance but I cannot see why I should buy that album. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Holy Shit...record companies addressing the real problem...never figured I'd see that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 I say fuck this deal about lowering the price. Don't get me wrong, that's great and all, but it isn't going to keep people from downloading music and burning custom CDs and the such. If they really want to solve the problem of low sales, then they need to work on the damn QUALITY of the albums which are being released. Enough of this shit of only having 2-3 songs worth anything on a CD. This is what they should be dealing with first and foremost. A crappy $9.99 CD is still the same crappy $16.99 CD. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cran Da Maniac 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 I'm all for this. My local Turtle's music (fomerly Blockbuster/Warehouse music) is closing up and they've been selling off their stuff really cheap. I've been buying like a motherfucker in there. Got some really good deals for less then $8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Haven't bought a new CD in 8+ years, excluding a $50 purchase in '98 via gift certificate I won. Haven't bought a used CD in 3+ years... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Used CD's are the way to go, or the 2 for 20 bin. (London Calling and Animals I bought recently from that deal) or sometimes 2 for 15 (Crime of the Century and Classic Yes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cynicalprofit 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Untill the price hits about 3 bucks, fuckem. All it cost for the cd itself is a piece of paper, ink, the cd, and a plastic case, anything else is worthless junk since I buy music for MUSIC, not the package it comes in. And the reason, besides the price gouging, that I dont buy cds anymore is because most of the music SUCKS. And over exposing 30 bands will NOT sell albums and will burn out all long term value they have. Britneys only cd available in another decade is gonna be a porno dvd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Bullshit. I use Kazaa to preview CD's I am interested in buying. If I like what I hear, I buy the album first thing the next day, if not, then I find something else. If only the rest of the world were as nice as me. UYI Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Untill the price hits about 3 bucks, fuckem. All it cost for the cd itself is a piece of paper, ink, the cd, and a plastic case, anything else is worthless junk since I buy music for MUSIC, not the package it comes in. And the reason, besides the price gouging, that I dont buy cds anymore is because most of the music SUCKS. And over exposing 30 bands will NOT sell albums and will burn out all long term value they have. Britneys only cd available in another decade is gonna be a porno dvd. There IS good music out there..you just need to look deeper. If you're into metal at all, I could give you a whole shitload of bands that are recording, releasing, and on tour right this moment who are all really fuckin' good... If you're not though, then well...don't know what to tell ya. The rest of the industry is in the crapper, as far as I know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Every Genre has the golden shit and and Brown shit... Metal has Shadows Fall but has to suffer with a Six Feet Under.... Rap has Rakim but has to suffer with Ja Rule... Country has Garth but has to suffer with Toby Keith. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steviekick 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Metal has Shadows Fall but has to suffer with a Six Feet Under.... Yeah, but unlike the other examples you gave, SFU isn't holding back SF. They're on different labels that are promoting them equally, and I'd say that Century Media is doing a much better job promoting SF's higher quality music. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted September 5, 2003 I was just refering to AOO's statement of the industry is in the crapper...by saying all the industries have SOMETHING good but something evil as well Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steviekick 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 I see...my bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
