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don't really think anyone is whinging about the price of chart CDs but they are also catered for in supermarkets as that's generally the sort of thing you'd find on sale at ASDA, Tesco and the like at the same prices really

 

the biggest problem is the "specialist" genres being overpriced and these are the sort of people you should be trying to keep in the shop considering the range of CDs in the supermarkets in that sort of area isn't as big as HMV. I've seen albums at £17.99 in the metal genre, you can go home and pick it up for about £10 online. I know there is overheads but that's a good way to stop somebody wanting to use your shop

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Then why would they pay for a physical album if they can just get it for free online?

 

-x-

 

Not that I think this argument is relevant as I'm of the firm opinion that Spotify is the future of paid music once the physical album dies/is dominated by Amazon, but I really see no reason why download albums couldn't take off, at all.

 

because illegal downloads.can give u the same quality as a legal downloads while they.can't replace physical formats!!

i never said the government should raise online retail prices, but i mean they should support the high street shops by lowering taxes on some products and industries to keep them.going... otherwise it will.be an inevitable demise of the high street shops... taxes shouls be equally applied to both high street and online retailers without exception...

You said the online retailers should be taxed more though. If you said high street shops should be taxed less then I wouldn't disagree with you.

i never ignored other people's opinions, ur are only trying to prove that my theory is wrong while i can prove u it's right : statistics proved that there is 99 illegal downloads for each legal download (worldwide) and i'm sure the rate is almost as high in the UK, ok so single sales are at an all time high but i'm talking mainly about album downloads here ... they will never reach the same levels as CD sales and time will prove that... album.downloads are expensive given the quality of.the product u r getting (lower quality, no design...) while.CD albums are relatively cheap ... illegal downloads can make up for legal ones but they can't make up for physical.CD's...

1 illegal download =/= 1 sale. A lot of illegal downloading comes from people who were never going to purchase the product anyway. On the flip side it has been proven repeatedly that a lot of pirate the MPAA and RIAA demonise spend on average more on music/film per annum than the average person does through cinema and concert tickets/merch etc. Illegal downloading can also help drive sales by introducing someone to something new that they would not have tried had they not been able to acquire it for free first.

 

Totally agree - And the other day i was going through my Spice Girl collection :kink: I have Virgin and HMV stickers still on their albums - £14.49 & £15.99!! I cant believe albums were that much and still managed to sell by the bucket load.

Tell me about it! When I bought Catfights & Spotlights on release day I was forced to get it from WH Smiths as nowhere else in Dundee was stocking it (Crown were arguing with HMV and thus HMV just refused to stock it) and I almost cried at the thought of paying £14 for it. I wouldn't have if it wasn't the Sugababes.

i never ignored other people's opinions, ur are only trying to prove that my theory is wrong while i can prove u it's right : statistics proved that there is 99 illegal downloads for each legal download (worldwide) and i'm sure the rate is almost as high in the UK, ok so single sales are at an all time high but i'm talking mainly about album downloads here ... they will never reach the same levels as CD sales and time will prove that... album.downloads are expensive given the quality of.the product u r getting (lower quality, no design...) while.CD albums are relatively cheap ... illegal downloads can make up for legal ones but they can't make up for physical.CD's...

No, you don't want to understand that with the digital era the market for songs and albums have changed. Piracy is there Ive never said that's a wrong theory. BUT now that people can listen to songs from an album on youtube, spotify or even a preview on amazon or itunes they can decide if they want the whole album or just the songs they like. Big fans will buy whole albums of their fave artist but not everyone anymore.

With pre order promotions, or for example 69p reductions customers will buy more music, also a way to get back to legal downloads Apple's solution with the iTunes match is a great idea but other retailers offer this service too.

 

Album sales will never reach the level as 15-20 years ago, but as I said the market for music has changed and not because of piracy...

You said the online retailers should be taxed more though. If you said high street shops should be taxed less then I wouldn't disagree with you.

 

i mean both, online retailers should be taxed more, and high street shops should be taxed less, in order to reach an equal taxation state for both....

because illegal downloads.can give u the same quality as a legal downloads while they.can't replace physical formats!!

But why could you not have said the same for CD singles?! Album download sales are rising, so it's clearly not a non-starter. If physical albums stopped tomorrow, pretty much the majority of people who DO get them would probably buy them online instead. There probably aren't that many people in this day and age who buy albums as a rule if they know how to illegally download and would be willing to do so?

because illegal downloads.can give u the same quality as a legal downloads while they.can't replace physical formats!!

If they can't replace physical formats then why is HMV in administration you imbecile?

 

This thread makes me want to tear my eyes out, delusional idiots who can't see six feet in front of them. CDs will survive as long as people are willing to pay a little extra to have a physical copy of an album. If they're not then so be it, digital albums will take over if download stores are clever enough to undercut the physical by enough to make it worthwhile. In an age when even ignoring illegal downloads music is cheaper than ever I cannot see how the idea of paying for an album is going to disappear.

i never said the government should raise online retail prices, but i mean they should support the high street shops by lowering taxes on some products and industries to keep them.going... otherwise it will.be an inevitable demise of the high street shops... taxes shouls be equally applied to both high street and online retailers without exception...

You are showing a complete lack of even basic knowledge of the tax system, accounting and economics and it's making you look so very stupid.

 

Tax is applied equally to both High Street and Online retailers. Both of them can be creative with accounting to pay less tax. I don't know how you can comment so freely on this but have not yet made the connection between Starbucks and the high street. The connection being THEY ARE ON IT.

 

Yes Amazon don't pay tax, but neither do Starbucks. This is due to some very clever accounting work that HMV could have also applied and been able to reduce their tax liability. They chose not to. The government didn't decide to tax Amazon less, Amazon pay less because they jump through tiny little loopholes in tax law like the Channel Islands VAT loophole. A loophole which the government has actually closed pushing up Amazon and Play.com's prices to HMV levels.

 

It's not just tax that affects pricing. HMV has to physically pay for their high street presence. Rent, staff, electricity, business rates, taxes all add up. Amazon tends to be cheaper because the cost of selling to the world from a warehouse in Dunfermline (and many many many others across Europe, the US, Canada and Japan thus attracting greater economies of scale in a similar manner to Tesco being able to bully suppliers because they account for £1 out of every £8 spent in the UK) is less than selling from 230 high streets. This isn't even basic economic and accounting principles. It's so basic it's about as complex at the 0 and 1 times tables. Perhaps you could apply for a job with the MPAA/RIAA or become a Tory MP. The three of them can't grasp basic bitch maths either.

i mean both, online retailers should be taxed more, and high street shops should be taxed less, in order to reach an equal taxation state for both....

You want to "penalise" online retailers (and also their customers) to save a product that is nearing to the end of its life cycle? That leads to more illegal downloading and won't stop the decline of physical sales. Whats the sense of it? Why do you want to save the CD? Because it's shiny and cost more to produce?

i mean both, online retailers should be taxed more, and high street shops should be taxed less, in order to reach an equal taxation state for both....

I think this is perhaps the single most stupid thing I have read on this website. That is no mean feat.

 

 

You've managed to beat "SAUSAGES :magic: " among other gems.

I feel for all HMV staff, I sometimes have to refuse clothes refunds at work if the tags have been cut out or they reek (basically if they come back in an unsellable state), and some customers go MAD. Worst part of any retail job by far. I did go in to the Brighton one today and saw all of the no refunds signs but sadly didn't see anything that I wanted to buy.
As a matter of interest, is there a reason you'd rather download than buy physical (and discounted) CDs? Are they still much more expensive in HMV or...?

If the government does that then the only result will be a decline in album sales because they're more expensive everywhere. I don't have the money to be buying shitloads of albums on Amazon if all the prices go up by a fiver. Deciding to raise the price of a product that much of the public can barely afford as it is is a ridiculous solution.

What do you think the government does at the moment when they don't receive the expected amount of tax? Do they just say "Oh well, never mind"? Of course they don't. They raise the money by other means, i.e. other taxes. And the simplest way is through taxes paid by individuals, i.e. you and me.

If they can't replace physical formats then why is HMV in administration you imbecile?

 

u didn't need to come up such a lame insult while.my opinion was certainly NOT directed at you.... i didn't mean can't Replace as in won't replace, i meant it doesn't give you the same product quality!!!

 

 

Quite. I'm actually starting to thing you lot really WERE in charge of HMV.

I wish... It wouldn't be in administration :D :rofl:

u didn't need to come up such a lame insult while.my opinion was certainly NOT directed at you.... i didn't mean can't Replace as in won't replace, i meant it doesn't give you the same product quality!!!

Because clearly I'm not allowed to respond to something not directly addressed to me on a public forum. Silly me.

then please give me a better one....

 

LOL. You can't even come up with good comebacks! :lol:

 

For once, I agree with almost everyone in this thread. I feel sorry for anyone who holds onto the physical market and refuses to acknowledge the download market. If downloads were that damaging to the market, then why have singles sales risen so much since they probably took off? Duh?

Edited by Grief

I also think that the recession is a massive factor for the decline in album sales. 99p is affordable for most people, but £10.99 just isn't worth that amount for most people, especially seeing as there are quicker and easier ways to download an album. There was more money around in the late 90s as well, which is why albums sold by the bucketload, even though they would be seen as expensive in modern times.

Edited by Grief

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