Actually read something from a record industry executive this week! One of the head guys at Universal was saying that he expected the CD to still be the main music media carrier "for a generation". Not sure how many years that's supposed to mean, but it does sound like a sensible approach. By the point that the last CD is pressed, Universal expects that physical distribution of music will have ended, replaced by electronic downloads from the internet. Fair enough, but sound quality issues still need to be addressed....
Universal says that, to survive, all the record labels need to make money out of electronic downloads but "they they haven't figured out how". But much of it will be working hard just to stand still. Studies show that few people believe they should pay as much for a downloaded album compared with a CD. A price of 50% of a CD is being mentioned and only a value of 20 or 30 cents per individual song. To stay where they are, record companies will have to sell a lot more music via digital downloads just to maintain their current revenues. Refreshingly, Universal sees that on-line sales might stimulate extra sales, but importantly it's promoting the idea of "communities built around specialist music that may push up the online sales of the 95% of albums that do not make the charts". Wow, that sounds like it could "rock" music!
Online stores are already finding that sales of back-catalogue releases are way higher than traditional brick-and-mortar stores ever hope to achieve. The online store is seen as far less intimidating to the "older buyer" that a hip shop on the high street.....
One swallow does not make a summer, but it almost sounds like some record label executives might be understanding that promoting diversity can help their business!