Are CDs Back En Vogue?
This week I picked up The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights live CD from my local music store for $9.99. What exactly does that have to do with Apple and all things Mac? Simple, I picked up physical media at a music store that was $2.00 less than the iTunes price.
Yes in the ever changing world of the music industry, buying CDs may be back en vogue.
Then there was a release from Universal Music Group stating, they will be offering CDs at a price of 6 to 10 dollars as part of their Velocity program. That deserves a Neo “WHOA”
It should be noted there will not be a price change from Universal Music Group for digital music.
I remember when a CD cost around $20. I thought back then (1992) that a CD should be less. Prices eventually started to come down. Most new releases came in just under $12.00.
It would appear the music labels have finally started to understand how to get CDs to compete with digital downloads. As Universal stated, they will to make up for the lower percent profit margin via sales volume and higher priced deluxe versions.
Granted the iTunes model appears to focus in on the individual track purchase. The music industry wants album sales.
Doing the math, for $9.99 one could purchase about 8 individual tracks at a $1.29, 10 at $0.99 or about 14 at the highly elusive $0.69 via iTunes. Following the Universal’s album model, I got 16 tracks for $9.99.
The best part of course was the handling of the album art and did mention my local music store added a free ticket to the DVD screening of the film.
Yes, that deserves another Neo “WHOA”
