|
The closing in 2006 of about 800 music stores, including Tower Records 89 locations, is only one indication of the changes in the way that consumers now obtain music. Apple has sold about 100 million iPods, so music is still a strong force in the activities of consumers. Currently popular songs and albums, along with many less well known works, are easily locatable online, and they may be either legal or pirated forms. The music industry would like the songs to be purchasable through such legal venues as Apple's iTunes, but consumers also can listen to them on MySpace page or download them at no cost from other sources, including MP3 blogs. Today, says Jeff Rabat, a manager of artists and producers, CDs are little more than advertisements for more-lucrative goods like concert tickets and T-shirts. The CD drives a tour, merchandise, and brand-building, but provides no profit. Digital sales of individual songs have risen 54 percent from a year previous to 173.4 million, but that revenue cannot offset an almost 20 percent decline from a drop a year ago in CD sales to 81.5 million units. A billion songs are traded each month on illegal file-sharing networks, says Big Champagne. The disappointing sales experienced by various music sellers are described.
|
Information Sources, Inc.
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}