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CDs, Vinyl Are Outselling Digital Downloads For the First Time Since 2011 (mercurynews.com)
Digital downloads had a short run as the top-selling format in the music industry. It took until 2011, a decade after the original iPod came out, for their sales surpass those of CDs and vinyl records, and they were overtaken by music streaming services just a few years later. Now, digital downloads are once again being outsold by CDs and vinyl, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. From a report: The RIAA released its 2017 year-end revenue report on Thursday, showing that revenue from digital downloads plummeted 25 percent to $1.3 billion over the previous year. Revenue from physical products, by contrast, fell just 4 percent to $1.5 billion. Overall, the music industry grew for a second year straight. And with $8.7 billion in total revenue, it's healthier than it has been since 2008, according to the report. Nearly all of the growth was the result of the continued surge in paid music subscription services like Spotify and Apple Music. Those services grew by more than 50 percent to $5.7 billion last year and accounted for nearly two-thirds of the industry's revenue. Physical media accounted for 17 percent, while digital downloads made up just 15 percent.
I've been buying CDs and never opening them when the CD version is cheaper or the same price as than the streaming version due to Amazon offering "AutoRip" on many CDs.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Between "all-you-can-listen" streaming services and CDs/vinyls coming with free downloads with purchase of the disc, there's very little reason to buy digital tracks anymore. Not to mention they're counting total revenue, and most vinyls are at least $25-$30 minimum these days, compared to $10-$15 for CDs and $1 per track from most digital download stores.
If you're always online, you're proably listening to one of the not-radio options rather than buying permission to hear individual songs until the terms of use change.
If you're paying attention to the companies that offer digital downloads of music, you're probably running to buy up CDs so you have some form of material ownership rather than buying permission to hear individual songs until the terms of use change.
for the music industry. I'm guessing this means people aren't buying music. We know CD sales our down and vinyl is a niche format for purists (or hipsters depending on your outlook). I'm guessing that it's not that CD/vinyl sales are up but that digital is down.
Then again if they're switching to subscription services then as long as those services are profitable it's good for them. Might suck for the bands though who often make money selling those CDs at concerts. I hear they don't make jack off the subscription services.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
66% is music services
the fact that downloads are separate and of the same order as CD or Vinyl is rather irrelevant, the main way of getting music is through the internet and physical media is dying.
Boo hoo, RIAA. So, it hasn't been even this high since 2008? And streaming/downloads only makes up $1.3B of that? Unreal. It's a mere 1/8th of your total revenue stream. That's not news, it's just bragging that your portfolio shifted around and you're making more, but in different areas. If I had to guess, I'd fall into the same thought processes as others and say it's the Amazon-like approach of selling an 'pre-ripped' album that also comes with the tangible CD/Vinyl, too, albeit for a slight markup more --- and it makes sense for some because you get it encoded for none of your time and it's instant use. Then your second surprise shows up in the mail a few days later you never open and shelf as a nostalgic backup.
This is like the NFL complaining about how 'viewership' is down this here for baseless excuses and is really impacting their product, but still manage to increase their entire network every year.
I'm surprised to see that "CD/Vinyl" is the excuse vs. pirating. Never see a witch-hunt for that as long as it's making you something.
This isn't going to apply to all new releases but most of what I buy comes with a download link. I can buy the nice gatefold vinyl with all the cool artwork and it will have a download code inside so I can get my FLACs at no additional cost. It's the best of both worlds. CDs ordered through bandcamp often come with an immediate download link on purchase too. The included download may have been a large contributing factor to physical sales dominance.
No mention of streaming... Sales are dead. Hopefully the RIAA will disappear too.
What's really going on is the music sellers are moving to the cable company model where they will not let you cherry pick the songs you want to buy and they will boil your frog-like ass for years until you are paying $100 per month for music.
Are any of you cord cutters feeling the heat yet? I thought not, you stupid frogs.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
I have zero interest in buying music anymore. Last CD I bought was Cypress Hill 's Til Death Do Us Part
Nowadays I don't even listen to music, I always mak sure to automute every new tab in the browser I'm using
This is all because of Music as a service. We recently found an album that we wanted on CD. We thought, "hey let's buy that on Amazon/iTunes." Nope, only available with a subscription.
I subscribe to Apple Music. Which has been nice for selection and so on...
But recently I wanted to actually buy a song. Even though it was also available "for free", to support the artist beyond the pittance he would earn through my streaming the song.
How to do so? I still have no idea, I spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to get to a real purchase page before I gave up.
You have to think that streaming is killing sales in general though...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
TFA is at the Mercury News web site, and credits Derek Hawkins at the Washington Post. But TFA says its source is a Medium post by the RIAA's Cary Sherman, and sure enough if you go to the RIAA's web site you can find a post with a link to the Medium post as well as to the RIAA's actual report: https://www.riaa.com/riaa-rele...
ProTip for submitters and editors: if TFA has a source, the source may well be on the web too, and may have real actual data.
I haven't bought an MP3 in years but I still buy CDs from time to time.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
The numbers show the record companies got less MONEY from digital than from physical products, not that people listened to fewer songs. Downloads and streaming let the consumer get more music for little money.
If you want FREE music there are millions and millions of songs on MySpace, free. 15 million people post their creations on myspace. If you want professionally produced, highly polished music and you want what the record companies pick out for you, contributing your $1 to the cost of that is not only the best right thing to do, it also supports the artists (musicians and composers, producers, mix engineers, etc) so they can continue to produce the music you love.
Some people say they don't see value in talent scouts finding artists, they'd be happy browsing through the 15 million artists on MySpace. They don't see value in the half million dollars of production that goes into a typical major-label album. Cool. If you don't want that, MySpace has millions of songs produced in someone's basement.
If you DO want to listen to songs that have been through a year of production to make the sound perfect, grab four quarters off your night stand and toss your buck in the hat that pays for all that.
Look, I support the artists, not the music industry.
I buy my LPs and CDs (and DVDs) direct from the artists at performances, where they get 50 percent of the take, not via Amazon or some digital intermediary who takes 99 percent of the cash and maybe, if they feel like it, gives the artists less than 1 percent.
Oh, check out Giants in the Trees and Golden Gardens, they are excellent!
I'll be buying more at performances like UpStream this summer.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Streaming encourages producers to make new songs sound like songs you like, because they can track the tar-hades out of you.
If you allow them to track your listening, you don't get to complain later that "everything sounds the same".
Removing digital music due to the cover art and lyrics for political reasons?
With physical copies that music is safe with the person who enjoys music.
Safe from brands and political SJW who feel they can ban digital music.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
1) Better, uncompressed quality on CD.
2) No DRM crap to block access to the recording, its safely and durably stamped onto disc permanently and playable on any non internet connected CD player.
CDs are sort of becoming a nostalgia item, hearkening back to the pre internet days, the era of fancy hi-fi systems and CD players with fancy controls and LCD readouts, while remaining the most practical and best quality format available, surpassing the durability of other nostalgia platforms such as Vinyl .
Clearly, CD wins hands down. Super CDs are better, yet a premium item it seems, its difficult to find anything on a SACD, epsecially tasteful music for instance orchestra or jazz music, at least for a reasonable price.
Cars with drivers, and horses, combined, are outselling self-driving cars.
How much of the "CDs and vinyl are outselling" is CDs and how much is vinyl? I suspect it isn't 50/50.
What is this "MySpace" of which you speak?
... look at the raw data to know this story is backed solely by cherry-picking.
Youtube is delivering audio at 12 bit lossless?
Citation needed.
I have mainly bought CDs for years because I didn't trust online sources not to delete my media if all I have is a digital copy. Yep, iTunes has done that. You get to download only once and if you change players, so sorry you don't have the songs you paid for any more. Amazon seems more reliable but for music I want to keep, I get a physical copy.
NRRPT/RCT
Vinyl is absolutely not equal to 12-bit lossless. There is wow/flutter, frequency response and pops/ticks to consider as well.
Youtube has none of that.
Eat the rich.