"We expect (this) will invigorate the music market in North America'' :laughing: :laughing:

We've been telling them this for years. :rolleyes:



http://my.aol.com/news/news_story.psp?type=4&cat=0806&id=200309031919000187090

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The world's largest recording company said Wednesday it would slash wholesale CD prices in hopes of reviving music sales, which have dropped 31 percent industrywide in the last three years.

The suggested sale price on a majority of its CDs will be cut by $6 to $12.98, Universal Music Group representatives said. Retailers have the final say on pricing, however.

"We expect (this) will invigorate the music market in North America,'' UMG Chairman and CEO Doug Morris said during a conference call Wednesday.

UMG, the market leader among the world's five major recording companies, said some multiple disk packages or CD box sets would not be included in the pricing change. UMG's artists include U2, Sting and Jimi Hendrix to around $10 or less. Consumers could begin seeing the price changes as early as Oct. 1.

UMG's current wholesale price for a CD album is $12.02, with a manufacturer suggested retail price of $18.98. Under the new pricing structure, the wholesale price would be $9.09 and UMG hopes the retail price will drop to about $10. The wholesale price for CDs by a handful of performers, including Eminem and Shania Twain, will be about a dollar more, said Jim Urie, president of Universal Music & Video Distribution.

The company also plans to cut wholesale prices on its cassettes and change the suggested retail price to $8.98.

``Our new pricing model will enable U.S. retailers to offer music at a much more appealing price point in comparison to other entertainment products,'' Urie said. ``We are confident this pricing approach will drive music fans back into retail stores.''

Yeah, right... retailers will just be raising their profit margin by $3 each CD and tell us "really - you are getting a deal!" :shaking:

Originally posted by DRM
Yeah, right... retailers will just be raising their profit margin by $3 each CD and tell us "really - you are getting a deal!" :shaking:

kinda what i was thinking...bet they try to keep the same prices, or have "sales" for a while.

Too little too late.

Originally posted by Schly
UMG's current wholesale price for a CD album is $12.02, with a manufacturer suggested retail price of $18.98. Under the new pricing structure, the wholesale price would be $9.09 and UMG hopes the retail price will drop to about $10.

Welp, I won't buy a new CD if it's more then $10.... I get used in great condition, as in like new for $2 here. I can wait an year or more after release for it to turn up on the used stack. Not a problem for me.

Originally posted by Regice
Too little too late.

Yeah, and meanwhile, it's only one CD company. It IS the biggest and others will probably follow suit soon. At least it's something. They are finally feeling the pain.

Music sales are down because the music sucks!

Originally posted by nakona
Music sales are down because the music sucks!

An economic slump doesn't exactly help, either. Notice they compare the CD sales figures against the heyday of 1999. It's going to be difficult at best to get back to those kind of numbers.

Still, I welcome the price break. It will make me more likely to go in and actually BUY a CD, rather than download it, but I can't say I'll be waiting outside for Best Buy to open on Oct 2nd.

Like I believe this crap.
m I remember when CD's were new, industry exec's said that when production gets high enough, they will be about $2.00 less than vynal is because they are cheaper to produce.
Long story short, prices never dropped, and when was the last time any of you saw a RECORD for sale new?????

I forgot what I was going to say after I saw FourBanger's avatar...:) :bounce:

Originally posted by Regice
Too little too late.

Yep, these nitwits should have relized this years ago. They've been charging prices that the market won't bear, especially ina time when most of their consumers are worse off ifnancially than they were a few years ago.

Instead of sucking up and making this decision years ago, they decided to try to point the finger and lay the blame on file-sharing, etc.

I think it's a good move, but I rarely buy CD's, especially new ones anymore because I'm so disgusted with the industry, and as Nakona said:

the music sucks!

Originally posted by Schly
its cassettes and change the suggested retail price to $8.98.


Wow, cassettes for 9 bucks. and for a dollar more you can get a cd. wow what a deal! and cassettes are such high quality!

In our household, we buy maybe 6 CD's a year. Half of those are sale or discounted CD's too. We buy maybe 3 a year that are "new", full retail CD's.

If prices were under $11, I can say without a doubt our purchases would increase.

$12.98 plus local 9.275% sales tax puts me up closer to $15, and we KNOW the retailers will tack on a couple more bucks...


So the net result is probably no better than a freakin $2 coupon :shaking:

i thought sales tax was up to a full 9.5%?

ah well, that's why i buy gas, food, and damn near everything else in virginia when i'm home :)