US Record Industry Sees Album Sales Sink to Historic Lows (Again)

not going to lie. I haven't bought an album in 4 years. :(

 

This is not surprising at all, but it's funny for me because now that I finally have a full-time job & extra dollars to spend, I'm buying way more albums this year than any other.

 

I'm 1 of 10 people who probably still go to the one music aisle Best Buy still has to get albums on release day

 

Right there with you. That aisle is getting sadder and sadder by the year.

 

Yeah I'm buying more physical CD's than ever

 

Exactly what I was going to say, hahah

 

Me too!

 

i'm actually surprised CD's are still made.

one of the biggest problems physical CD's always had was that they're almost always overpriced and never go down in price. DVD's and blu-rays are cheap and / or on sale all the time, but fuck if CD's ever are / were. and now that most digital albums are usually between 4-8 bucks a piece, at most 10, it doesn't pay to pay 10-15 for the actual disc.

add in that my macbook doesn't have a CD drive and i have absolutely no reason to own actual CD's and haven't had a reason for about a decade now.

 

After one year of being without CD's....I really don't miss them. If I like an album I get it on Spotify, and if I really like an album I'll buy a vinyl from the band. I really thought Id miss CD's, but I just don't. I'm actually surprised that it's to the point where even my friends parents have given up on CD's, and embraced streaming.

 

Yeah I had to stop shopping at Best Buy because that section got too depressing and they never carried what I wanted anymore

 

I'm guessing most people still buying CDs on a regular basis are listening to them in their cars. It's been around a decade since I've bought a physical CD as well, but when I did, most of my CD listening happened in the car. As CD players in cars are phased out, I think the format will follow suit, much like the cassette.

Then once we've forgotten about them bands will start putting them out again.

 

I don't know why I never jumped on the preorder train, but it makes perfect sense considering it gets delivered to you, and you don't have to go through the disappointment of walking out of that stupid store without getting what you wanted.

I do, however, always get to experience the distinct honor of being asked three different times how much I pay for cable.

 

Getting into vinyl a couple years ago is the biggest reason I buy almost everything I like these days. Before, I would only just buy the things I absolutely loved, and stream the rest on spotify or wherever. 90% of vinyl records coming with a download code is a godsend, and is basically buying the album and getting the record as like a cool collectible sort of thing, so I'm way more apt to buy a record to have the cool physical part of it as well.

 

My CD player in my truck broke a few weeks ago and I replaced it with a new stereo that I use my Bluetooth to play music from my phone. I still buy a decent amount of albums off iTunes, but I don't really have a need for CD's anymore. I won't forget the feeling of going to the store to get a new CD, diving into the booklet and *hoping* there were lyrics inside. But it's not something that kills me to move on from in the slightest, considering I have thousands of songs at my fingertips on my iPhone and can access any lyrics in a second. Upgrade!

 

Same. Vinyl mostly now, but yea definitely more than ever.

 

I really miss buying CDs on release day but since Apple Music has made my life so easy with music on my phone and my computer doesn't have a cd drive, my cd buying days are all but over.. Exception is if there is a limited tour release.. Andy hull was selling a limited cd for right away great captain so I picked that up.. Still had someone else send me the digital files though since I didn't have a way of getting the cd on my computer

 

you should really look at amazon's digital music selection if you haven't already done so. i would imagine it's almost a mirror image of iTunes and about 95% of the time cheaper too. usually iTunes is around 10-12 an album whereas amazon is 10 or less and has a very good, steady rotation of $7 and $5 album sales.

 

I buy tons of CDs and I almost never play them. I just like to own them, and also because of the booklet. I think I need to specify that I usually buy used CDs on Amazon for like 3€ shipping included.

 

I understand the low sales but I don't get people just being satisfied streaming music as opposed to buying it either digitally or physical. I don't want to have to be connected to the internet to listen to my music. I still buy albums but not mostly digital albums......not because I don't like CD's but my computer doesn't have a CD drive and don't like haveing to carry one around.

 

I've been very stubborn for years about continuing to buy physical CDs. I can't tell you how many people thought I was crazy but I always liked having a tangible copy of the music, but since I got my record player and Apple Music I just can't see a point anymore. If I care enough, I'll buy it on vinyl, otherwise Apple Music has me covered. I can't really see physical copies being a thing for much longer.

 

the lack of physicality is my biggest concern with my music. if i lose my ipod/laptop then i'm back to square one and complete out of music. of course, the same could be said if i would have lost my CD books back in the day, but still, it just feels like less ownership and less safety in 'keeping' things. although for all i know iTunes / amazon let you re-download purchases if need be (never had to do this or look into it).

 

I think pretty much every streaming service now allows you to download the music directly to your phone, so no internet is connected. You'd have to load a CD onto your phone anyway, so it's way easier to just click the download button on Apple Music or Spotify (or Tidal I guess) than to actually go through the process of loading the CD.

I also think the rise of vinyl is a big part of this. Owning physical copies has always been important to me, but I'd much prefer buying vinyls now which is a much more substantive physical copy than a cd. Unfortunately, I can't buy as many vinyls as I would CDs, so I imagine this is where there is a dip in sales. Really the only reason I can imagine needing physical CDs is if that's all your car can do, which can't be too many people who are still actively buying music. I actually fall in this category, but as has been said, most vinyls come with a digital download anyway so it's not too difficult to just burn that on a blank cds.

 

gotcha. I stick mostly to Itunes so didn't know much about the streaming services and that you can download the songs. If you can do this, whats the difference between Itunes and Apple music? Is it that if you buy something on Itunes you can burn a cd and transport the file to other computers, etc....and with Apple music its limited to your phone only?

 

There's also something to be said for the fact that your entire library can be moved from device to device with just your login codes. I change phones about every six months and not having to download files from a CD into my computer then to my phone every time is pretty great. It was obnoxious when my iPod needed new music and now a new release is available to me through a touchscreen. It's hard to beat that.