Records Outsell CD !

[Beershaun]

Im surprised youtube (even after absorbing now shuttered Google Play music) is largest, unless that includes video YT playback as music streaming- but hey, what do I know.

In the stats I posted it looks like it's not counting Youtube itself as a music streaming service for music and music videos. Youtube has 1.68B as in Billion users worldwide in 2019.

From the same site 2014-2019:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/986769/weekly-youtube-music-usage-population-usa/
Weekly YouTube music usage among U.S. population 2014-2019
Published by J. Clement, Apr 2, 2019
This statistic presents the percentage of weekly YouTube music usage among the population in the United States from 2014 to 2019. According to the findings, in 2014, 33 percent of the U.S. population was found to be using YouTube in any given week for either music or music videos. By 2019, half of the total U.S. population used the video website for music consumption on a weekly basis.

Yeah, so that's like...160Million people per week in the US alone.

 

[watchnerd]

Downloads are fine for Classical music IF the provider's selection includes what you want: very often this is not the case. The physical silver disc selection is much larger than what is available for download.

Huh.

I haven't run across that so far with any classical albums I've paid to download.

Sometimes the "Web release" even had more tracks.

 

[Beershaun]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but....

How can that make economic sense for the sellers?

The COGS on CD vs files would seem to necessitate higher, or at least parity, pricing for CDs.

COGS has very little to do with the sale price of digital content. The rights holders (record labels/publishers) for the content in many cases force retailers to cede pricing control to them so they set the price based on price elasticity and willingness to pay for the content. They still want to get paid the same amount for the value of the content and keep the extra margin in their pockets.

 

[Soniclife]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but....

How can that make economic sense for the sellers?

The COGS on CD vs files would seem to necessitate higher, or at least parity, pricing for CDs.

I agree it makes little sense on the surface, but I've never found a download as cheap as a CD for something I want to buy. The only answer that makes sense to me as to why is market competition, CD has it, downloads not so much.

 

[mansr]

Downloads are fine for Classical music IF the provider's selection includes what you want: very often this is not the case. The physical silver disc selection is much larger than what is available for download.

There are enough downloads to keep me busy for the rest of my life, but then I'm not one to collect every recording of a piece. I do have some duplicates, but that's mostly from overlap between discounted sets.

 

[dfuller]

Are you calling my audio lifestyle choice a hobby?

micro aggression alert

I self-identify as bi-format.

Lame joke, man. Not only is it not clever, this is super demeaning.

 

[Jimbob54]

In the stats I posted it looks like it's not counting Youtube itself as a music streaming service for music and music videos. Youtube has 1.68B as in Billion users worldwide in 2019.

From the same site 2014-2019:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/986769/weekly-youtube-music-usage-population-usa/
Weekly YouTube music usage among U.S. population 2014-2019
Published by J. Clement, Apr 2, 2019
This statistic presents the percentage of weekly YouTube music usage among the population in the United States from 2014 to 2019. According to the findings, in 2014, 33 percent of the U.S. population was found to be using YouTube in any given week for either music or music videos. By 2019, half of the total U.S. population used the video website for music consumption on a weekly basis.

Yeah, so that's like...160Million people per week in the US alone.

Yoiks- no wonder the labels got behind streaming. Do or die- Youtube achieved what Napster couldnt.

 

[Zog]

Nothing really surprising here. The majority of people have moved from CDs to streaming for all their music desires. A few stalwarts who refused to switch to CDs in the first place are still stubbornly clinging to their vinyl. (Hopefully there's no vinyl clinging to them; that would be a most disturbing sight.) Then there are the wannabe hipster millenials buying vinyl mostly to display next to their "vintage" (made in China, distressed to look old by equally distressed workers) trinkets. Many of them don't even own a turntable, so I'm told. Most people don't own a CD player either. The only thing the CD format has going for it is inconvenience, and vinyl has more of that plus nostalgia too. Of course it wins.

This sort of put down is not necessary, unwanted, and barely on topic - the OP was CD vis-à-vis vinyl. If you want to talk about streaming you can find plenty of threads.

 

[watchnerd]

Lame joke, man. Not only is it not clever, this is super demeaning.

It's only demeaning to me, as an LP collector.

Or is it empowering?

It's very meta.

 

[Jimbob54]

This sort of put down is not necessary, unwanted, and barely on topic - the OP was CD vis-à-vis vinyl. If you want to talk about streaming you can find plenty of threads.

Put down? Of whom? And if you don't recognise streaming as integral to the dynamic between CD and LP sales then, err, OK. But no.

 

[watchnerd]

Put down? Of whom? And if you don't recognise streaming as integral to the dynamic between CD and LP sales then, err, OK. But no.

I didn't get who it was supposed to be putting down, either.

 

[Jimbob54]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but....

How can that make economic sense for the sellers?

The COGS on CD vs files would seem to necessitate higher, or at least parity, pricing for CDs.

Im just calling it as I see it Chief.

Example- I quite like the kind of music that Bandcamp major on. After exchange rate, taxes etc a Bandcamp download (it may be higher res than 16/44 but doesnt impact price) works out at around £11 to me. Other online download sellers arent much different

Depending on how hard its pushed , Amazon might have the CD for £7 or £8 delivered .

Largely irrelevant as I now only buy when Qobuz cant provide, but certainly over here- download aint cheap.

 

[Robin L]

This sort of put down is not necessary, unwanted, and barely on topic - the OP was CD vis-à-vis vinyl. If you want to talk about streaming you can find plenty of threads.

Nope, the lede is misleading anyway:

"Vinyl record sales surpass CDs for the first time since the 1980s"

But the competition isn't really CDs, the competition is streaming. LPs are getting a free ride in the press, but the reality is that many more people stream now. That's reality. The notion of LPs returning from the dead is fraudulent, LPs continue to be a niche item, the market for music on physical media continues to shrink. Go further into the CNN article, you get:

"However, the boost in vinyl interest hasn't been enough to keep physical sales from dropping. Physical sales plunged 23% to $376 million, in the first half of the year as the pandemic continues to stall music industry norms.
Concerts and visits to music stores have all but disappeared."

That's the real news item here.

 

[watchnerd]

Im just calling it as I see it Chief.

Example- I quite like the kind of music that Bandcamp major on. After exchange rate, taxes etc a Bandcamp download (it may be higher res than 16/44 but doesnt impact price) works out at around £11 to me. Other online download sellers arent much different

Depending on how hard its pushed , Amazon might have the CD for £7 or £8 delivered .

Largely irrelevant as I now only buy when Qobuz cant provide, but certainly over here- download aint cheap.

That's just weird.

A physical item, delivered to your house, of the same bits being more expensive vs downloaded bits.

That's just pure Freakonomics.

 

[watchnerd]

Nope, the lede is misleading anyway.:
"Vinyl record sales surpass CDs for the first time since the 1980s"
But The competition isn't really CDs, the competition is streaming. LPs are getting a free ride in the press, but the reality is that many more people stream now. That's reality. The notion of LPs returning from the dead is fraudulent, LPs continue to be a niche item, the market for music on physical media continues to shrink.

Y'all are going to be real shocked when the reel to reel tape resurgence keeps building over the next 10 years.

 

[watchnerd]

Example- I quite like the kind of music that Bandcamp major on. After exchange rate, taxes etc a Bandcamp download (it may be higher res than 16/44 but doesnt impact price) works out at around £11 to me. Other online download sellers arent much different.

Oh, wait, you said Bandcamp.

NVM.

You're paying extra for "fair trade" to "support the artists."

 

[Jimbob54]

That's just weird.

A physical item, delivered to your house, of the same bits being more expensive vs downloaded bits.

That's just pure Freakonomics.

No doubt. Its the major reason I went to (lossless) streaming-

£9 for a CD
£more or less for a purely digital version of that CD
£15-20 per month for the same quality files, on tap, mobile or home- when I add 10-20 albums a month to my library? I might be a bit daft, but I'm not stupid.

 

[watchnerd]

No doubt. Its the major reason I went to (lossless) streaming-

£9 for a CD
£more or less for a purely digital version of that CD
£15-20 per month for the same quality files, on tap, mobile or home- when I add 10-20 albums a month to my library? I might be a bit daft, but I'm not stupid.

*cough*
torrents
*cough*

 

[Jimbob54]

Oh, wait, you said Bandcamp.

NVM.

You're paying extra for "fair trade" to "support the artists."

Oddly, not really- very limited lossless download companies here- if the XR is blowing in the right direction BC can be cheaper than other sources. And indeed some of the indie label stuff is only available there for lossless download .

 

[Jimbob54]

*cough*
torrents
*cough*

Yes, but thats bad!!!! I dont have many morals but that I won't do.