Britons greatest music fans - official

[mikeuk]

in respect of per capita album sales, see article at the following:

www.musicweek.com


Mike

 

[mikeuk]

sorry, that s/be

www.bpi.co.uk

 

[Popmartijn]

And should the page be updated, then I think this is the direct link to the artice:
http://www.bpi.co.uk/news/press/news_content_file_910.shtml

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Not surprising considering their currency is worth the most...and because their general music scene isn't as segmented as ours.......a great portion of the country knows what the No. 1 single is the current week.....

 

[ybird3k]

though CD's in the UK cost a lot more than in america, £15 for a CD here, (bout $30),
how much does the average CD cost in the US?

 

[beLIEve]

Some of the top selling CD's here have "fire sales" or agreements with certain retailers to sell their CD at reduced prices, like $7.99 at Target only, etc. U2's HTDAAB was on sale last week at Circuit City for just $10.99, which was mentioned in the BB article as one of the factors that likely helped them jump up 15 spots on the Charts with a 26% sales increase.

Overall, I would say the average CD price in the U.S. is about $12.50 or less. The trend to package a DVD or bonus CD in new releases is growing, though, and U2 is a part of that trend. In that segment, I would say the average price is around $19 or so.

Then there are people like me, who had to have Fast Cars, the bonus DVD, and the scribbling...I mean artwork...included in the "Collector's Edition Package" for HTDAAB on the day of it's release for $27.

 

[ybird3k]

I paid £20 for the same HTDAAB package on the day of release in the UK, thats about $40

and $12.50 average CD price thats about £6-7 in the US compared with £15 in UK.

so almost twice expensive in the UK compared to the US.

 

[STING2]

Some of the top selling CD's here have "fire sales" or agreements with certain retailers to sell their CD at reduced prices, like $7.99 at Target only, etc. U2's HTDAAB was on sale last week at Circuit City for just $10.99, which was mentioned in the BB article as one of the factors that likely helped them jump up 15 spots on the Charts with a 26% sales increase.

Overall, I would say the average CD price in the U.S. is about $12.50 or less. The trend to package a DVD or bonus CD in new releases is growing, though, and U2 is a part of that trend. In that segment, I would say the average price is around $19 or so.

Then there are people like me, who had to have Fast Cars, the bonus DVD, and the scribbling...I mean artwork...included in the "Collector's Edition Package" for HTDAAB on the day of it's release for $27.

Average CD price in the USA in 2000 was 19.99. Its dropped a little since then, but coming back from the store recently, the BOMB was on sale for $15.99. Prices will vary from place to place, but I'd say the average price for a CD today in the USA is about 16.99.

 

[ybird3k]

still about 1/2 of the Uk price we get ripped off every time here

 

[beLIEve]

It's the size of the U.S. market that has attracted new entries into the music market, and the size of those retailers, i.e., Wal Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc., has really brought the prices of CD's down. These high volume sellers, along with internet shopping, have really put the squeeze on traditional record stores. They have had to be innovative about carrying more than just music and at competitive prices.

The article that sites Brits as being the biggest buyers of music per capita bodes well, for consumers, for the long-term, as big retailers may want a bigger piece of that growing pie, and you could have the same result as we have had in the U.S. The other side to this story is the download revolution, which also put pressure on CD prices.

All of this helps the consumer, hurts the record stores and musicians. The record industry exec's have not taken a cut in pay...the musicians make less instead.

I used to love going into record stores and finding obscure U2 stuff. Today it's all on the Net. Also, I bought HTDAAB at Wal Mart and Circuit City. Prices vary widely in the U.S., as Circuit City has the regular CD for $10.99, while Sam Goody has it "on sale" for $15.99. Also, the Collector's edition was $44.99 at Sam Goody, while it was at Wal Mart for $26.99.

That's why I think U2 could have played a big role in saving the music industry by legitamizing the download business. CD sales will continue to be under pressure, IMO, but the huge retailers control the market, so it's the little guy that will be gone in 10 years. The download industry is still in it's infancy and still largely file sharing. When it stabilizes, the price of music in the U.S. will be lower still, but the cost of selling music will be, too. A massive business model transformation is underway, and unfortunately, it's the musicians who will suffer most during this time. U2 won't be affected, but there won't be another U2 as Bono said.

 

[Popmartijn]

I paid £20 for the same HTDAAB package on the day of release in the UK, thats about $40

and $12.50 average CD price thats about £6-7 in the US compared with £15 in UK.

so almost twice expensive in the UK compared to the US.

Well, through sites as Play.com and 101cd.co.uk CDs aren't that expensive anymore though, with many CDs being 9 or 10 pounds or even less. So the price gap isn't that big.