Gary
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Post by Gary on Apr 8, 2014 15:01:15 GMT -5
Walmart, the largest retailer of CDs in the United States, plans to downsize the amount of space it devotes to discs by 40 percent and could reduce selection proportionately, say label sources. The company hopes to offset the potential sales loss by prominently displaying hit titles at the front of the entertainment department.
This strategy reflects a reversal of the chainβs approach to selling music. Previously, Walmart, which Billboard estimates sold $600 million worth of CDs in 2013, relied on an assortment of hot titles, new releases from established artists, Latin music, and rock, R&B and country catalog albums to satisfy its customers.
With the 40 percent cutback scheduled to take place in May and June, developing artists, already scarcely represented by the chain, will have a harder time getting carried, and a senior label executive says that even new releases might not make the cut βif your title does not have the strength to place [at the front of an aisle]. You might need a radio hit.β
βWalmartβs message is, βOur customer wants new hits, recent hits and catalog at lower prices, $5 or $7,ββ says another. (Walmart was unavailable to comment.)
If CD selection declines as much as the space, label sources estimate that Walmartβs average inventory will drop from around 3,500 titles to about 2,100. The chain will compensate by unveiling the new displays, now in 2,400 stores, in all 3,600 that sell CDs. Billboard estimates Walmartβs U.S. market share for recorded music at 9 percent to 10 percent, making it the second-largest music account by dollar volume in the country. (iTunes, at an estimated 42 percent, is first.)
βIt sounds like Walmart is going to become more like Target,β says one label president. Target stores carry the smallest CD selection of any big-box chain -- 1,000 to 1,500 titles -- with a concentration on hits.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Apr 8, 2014 15:04:22 GMT -5
^Can you please post a link to the article?
Oh, sh*t!
Like this label head says, Walmart is going to be like Target:
βIt sounds like Walmart is going to become more like Target,β says one label president. Target stores carry the smallest CD selection of any big-box chain -- 1,000 to 1,500 titles -- with a concentration on hits.
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Gary
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Post by Gary on Apr 8, 2014 15:06:10 GMT -5
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Apr 8, 2014 15:08:34 GMT -5
I never went to box stores like these for CDs anyway so this isn't surprising and while it's unfortunate, it makes sense. Wal Mart for years here has generally only had albums by big names or older established hits. I'd be fine if Wal Mart and Target got out of the cd business if dedicated music retailers were still in business.
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Post by Push The Button on Apr 8, 2014 15:18:45 GMT -5
And they STILL refuse to sell unedited music.
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Gabe
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Post by Gabe on Apr 8, 2014 15:29:25 GMT -5
Feels like they already did. I can't ever find the CD I'm looking for at Walmart.
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Me. I Am l!nk!nfan815...
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All Lives Canβt Matter Until Black Lives Matter
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Post by Me. I Am l!nk!nfan815... on Apr 8, 2014 15:33:18 GMT -5
Oh for crying out loud, just take that whole damn thing out already...
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Lozzy
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Post by Lozzy on Apr 8, 2014 15:38:41 GMT -5
It surprised me how much Walmart sells.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Apr 8, 2014 15:45:42 GMT -5
^Walmart has been the #1 cd seller for years and years.
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Apr 8, 2014 16:11:02 GMT -5
yeah but now it's just time to stop selling cds at all. People can download the albums they want.
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Apr 8, 2014 16:16:10 GMT -5
yeah but now it's just time to stop selling cds at all. People can download the albums they want. I still buy CDs. I think there'll always be a niche market for CDs. Though I can't really imagine it in the same capacity as the market for vinyl but I suppose CDs are still relatively recent and don't have the "classic" feel to them that vinyls have.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Apr 8, 2014 16:17:58 GMT -5
Cds still outsell digital albums each week.
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Apr 8, 2014 16:19:03 GMT -5
Cds still outsell digital albums each week. CDs vs TEA? Dont' CDs have more "overhead" in terms of shipping costs etc?
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Apr 8, 2014 16:29:40 GMT -5
^Yes, but they are still outselling digital albums. For now...
4,670,000 albums were sold in the USA last week.
2,056,000 were digital albums.
2,614,000 were cds/vinyl albums/cassettes.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Apr 8, 2014 16:30:40 GMT -5
yeah but now it's just time to stop selling cds at all. People can download the albums they want. I still buy CDs. I think there'll always be a niche market for CDs. Though I can't really imagine it in the same capacity as the market for vinyl but I suppose CDs are still relatively recent and don't have the "classic" feel to them that vinyls have. Me too. Not everyone wants to buy digital albums only...
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Apr 8, 2014 17:05:09 GMT -5
Wal-Mart already has slashed shelf space, so what's it gonna be, 1/4-1/2 of 1/2 an aisle?
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Hot AC Archiver
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Post by Hot AC Archiver on Apr 8, 2014 17:35:12 GMT -5
I still buy CDs too, but a lot fewer than i used to. I still have most of the ones I've bought over the years, including some from the 1980s. :) I keep them as backup in case my digital songs are somehow wiped out. I will buy digital albums on occasion, usually if Amazon has a good sale.
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Post by Push The Button on Apr 8, 2014 17:44:55 GMT -5
I will always buy CDs. A hard copy is always needed.
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Gary
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Post by Gary on Apr 8, 2014 17:52:26 GMT -5
I used to think that until storage became a problem. I have a closet in my house that has nothing in it but boxes upon boxes of CDs
I listen to all my music on computer/ipods now and have not played a CD on a CD player in a long time
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chartfreak
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Post by chartfreak on Apr 8, 2014 19:15:24 GMT -5
Why don't they just put them in boxes in the aisle like they do now anyways.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Apr 8, 2014 19:17:21 GMT -5
I listen to my cds in the car.
For bus/plane/train trips, I pull out my Walkman (!!) and my 80s mix cassettes.
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Gary
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Post by Gary on Apr 8, 2014 19:36:34 GMT -5
What's a Walkman? - LOL (j/k)
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Post by Push The Button on Apr 8, 2014 19:39:33 GMT -5
I used to think that until storage became a problem. I have a closet in my house that has nothing in it but boxes upon boxes of CDs I listen to all my music on computer/ipods now and have not played a CD on a CD player in a long time I have a library in my house that houses thousands of CD's and DVDs/Blu-rays. I love to go in there and just...stare at my accomplishments.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 19:43:16 GMT -5
I listen to my cds in the car. For bus/plane/train trips, I pull out my Walkman (!!) and my 80s mix cassettes. wait.... You STILL use a Walkman? It's 2014, not 1984
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Apr 8, 2014 19:55:14 GMT -5
I used to think that until storage became a problem. I have a closet in my house that has nothing in it but boxes upon boxes of CDs I listen to all my music on computer/ipods now and have not played a CD on a CD player in a long time I have a library in my house that houses thousands of CD's and DVDs/Blu-rays. I love to go in there and just...stare at my accomplishments. That's what I want eventually. lol. It sounds silly but for me, a CD collection is a wonderful thing in the same sense people love to have a nice library or book shelf filled with a wide array of books. Most people will read most books once but they keep them because they love the look of a book collection. Eventually (sooner than later) my CD shelf, which holds about 1,000 CDs, will be filled and I'll have to weed out some of the ones I know I'll never listen to again but I could never part with so many of them. Eventually I want to have a room to hold my media, and books, and have my CD/record player on a table next to a chair and have it be my listening room.
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Kris
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Post by Kris on Apr 8, 2014 20:08:16 GMT -5
People still buy CDs often? I haven't spent money on music since probably like 2006, surprised how long they've lasted.
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Post by Push The Button on Apr 8, 2014 20:27:04 GMT -5
People still buy CDs often? I haven't spent money on music since probably like 2006, surprised how long they've lasted. Well, I like to pay for things instead of stealing them. That's prolly just me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 20:31:37 GMT -5
People still buy CDs often? I haven't spent money on music since probably like 2006, surprised how long they've lasted. I feel like the N.S.A. Just put you on their watch list, good luck. (Oh wait you live in Canada.... Your government is probably doing the same thing anyway).
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Post by KeepDeanWeird on Apr 8, 2014 22:20:46 GMT -5
Like many on here, I have a huge CD collection, but the last one I bought was probably in 2008. If I have to buy a CD, it's for an older relative and I choose Amazon, so I can get the digital copy on the cloud either for my use or as a back-up/ease to download to their iPod/iPhone. I'm certain Wal-Mart has evaluated the change in their consumers' buying patterns and with country music now selling well digitally, I'm pretty sure that has impacted physical sales. It is interesting that record companies will put out certain product as only physical (think some titles in Playlist: the very best of, Millenium series, etc.), that are still available as CDs, but not digital. I would think it would be the opposite.
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halo19
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Post by halo19 on Apr 8, 2014 22:24:32 GMT -5
Admittedly, subscription services have mostly been my replacement for buying CDs in the last few to several years.
My budget was really low then, so I couldn't just buy everything. If I hear something and love it, I'm likely to buy it.
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