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Dsounds
Your daily source of news for the digital music revolution.
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Dsounds
Your daily source of news for the digital music revolution.
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Lately it was believed that digital music downloads are destroying CDs sales but a recent survey has proven this completely wrong and that music downloads are helping sell CDs.
Entertainment Media Research did a survey of 1,400 people and found that 80 percent would buy as many or more CDs in the future. The survey also supports claims that music lovers buy digital downloads when the music they want is not available or if they want to test an album before they buy a hard copy of it.
For the full story:
Macworld UK - Music downloads complement CD sales
They don't drive up ticket prices, they drive up ticket sales. Let me explain.
Downloading is good for the listener, as you demonstrated, but bad for record labels, as I showed. The mitigating factor is this: previously under-distributed or unsigned artists had little way to gain reputation and thereby increase ticket sales. With the advent of mp3 distribution, artists who make little money off of record sales experience a rise in concert attendance, via better distribution to their audience. Since ticket sales are the main income of such artists, it is a positive net effect for them. In the end, only the major-label rock stars and the labels themselves, whose profits are mostly record sales, are not benefiting from this change.
Posted by: matthew at September 23, 2004 12:34 PMSure, downloads have made a dent in sales, but it allows customers to make informed purchases now. No more will I have to buy a CD after hearing only one 'radio' song to find out the rest is crap.
I fail to understand how it has driven up ticket prices. People will pay what they will pay. Sure, the price of tickets has gone up some, but I would doubt it's related to this.
Posted by: Tinfoil at September 22, 2004 08:01 AMYou and I know that's it's highly doubtful that downloads have helped CD sales. They probably help drive up ticket sales to live shows, so in the end it does benefit the artist. It's fairly certain, though, that the record companies are getting the shaft. They've given artists and listeners worse for a long time now, so I say it's about damn time we gave it back.
Posted by: matthew at September 18, 2004 02:44 PM
The mistake here is the notion that downloading is hurting or has hurt CD sales. This is a myth and has been demonstrated time and again. What has also been pointed out is that while RIAA label sales may well be down, the non-RIAA labels (from indies to DIYs) are doing just fine. Additionally, the margins gained on sales has DRASTICALLY increased for labels. All the rant about sales is demonstrably BS and is designed to stifle competition.
Regarding increased ticket prices: Prices always rise. The rub is this: Have they risen above, below, or in concert with the rate of inflation?
Posted by: David M. McLean at October 8, 2004 08:15 AM