A record number of albums were sold in the UK in the last year because they are now cheaper than ever, industry figures have revealed.
More than 228 million albums were sold in the 12 months from June 2002 – up 3% on the previous year – according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). And they were on sale for an average of £9.79 each, which is a new low, the BPI said.
But despite the healthiest album sales recorded, music industry profits are down.
The BPI said the total UK music market for the first six months of 2003 was down 7% in sales values, compared with last year.
Artists such as Robbie Williams, whose Escapology album has sold 1.8 million in the UK since its November release, have dominated the album charts in recent months.
Other album successes have come from Norah Jones, with sales of 1.5 million, and Avril Lavigne and Justin Timberlake, with 1.2 million each.
ALBUM SALES
Five years ago (1998): 210 million
Ten years ago (1993): 153 million
Twenty-five years ago (1978): 107 million
CD prices have dropped as record shops have been forced to compete with supermarkets and websites, which are able to sell them for less.
Tesco recently said it had overtaken Virgin to become the UK’s third-largest music retailer.
“It is clear that cheap retail prices on offer to the consumer, combined with strong new release titles, are sustaining the UK album market at a high level,” a BPI statement said.
A spokesman said inflation had been taken into account when assessing how the average retail price compared with previous years.
But while sales increased, lower prices meant the value of the albums market was down 2%.
Along with sliding singles sales, they helped push the overall value of record sales down by more than 4%, the BPI said.
And the problems for the record companies were compounded by a 26% drop in both the value and volume of singles sold.
“Although an annual total of 41 million units compares favourably with virtually every other international territory, the fact remains that demand has halved within the last five years,” the BPI said.
Story from the BBC News page. Go here for the full story.
—————
To sum it up, if CDs are cheap enough, they WILL sell better. Combine the above story with news that theres about 25% fewer releases this year than last year and the drop in CD sales can be blamed purely on the industry and not on P2P as the RIAA would have us believe.
Related Posts
- Music Sales Strong Despite Digital Piracy
- 06 album sales plunge; downloads way up
- Album sales slump 8.8% in 2002
- Album Sales Dip During First Half, Digital Sales Balloon
- Major Record Label Admits CD Sales is Not a Measure of Success
Loading ...
