people just wait for albums now though as you can buy some for 6.99 in their first week, i remember a time when you were lucky to buy an album for less than £15 on its first week. That was when it made sense to buy a single for 1.99

people just wait for albums now though as you can buy some for 6.99 in their first week, i remember a time when you were lucky to buy an album for less than £15 on its first week. That was when it made sense to buy a single for 1.99

that was what helped singles sell so much in the peak years of 1994-2002. CD Singles were often £1.99 in the first week, on at least 2 CD formats and a cassette format too which sold for 99p to £1.49. People bought all three formats in week one before prices rose, so that was 3 sales to just one person. On the other hand, a CD album in the late 90s was considered a bargain when Sainsburys, Asda and Tesco began discounting them down to £12.99 and some were considered a giveaway at £10.99. I'm sure my local Our Price was still charging up to £14.99 for a new album when it closed a few years back and even Music Zone was still charging £9.99 or £10.99 when it closed at the start of last year. The Leona album was £5 in one store a few weeks ago - there's just no comparison any more.

I just wish a heavily anticipated download single would come along and sell 100k+ downloads in its first week, we know that millions of people in the UK have MP3 players so its entirely feasible for it to happen...

Yeah it does seem odd that downloads are so spread out...

people just wait for albums now though as you can buy some for 6.99 in their first week, i remember a time when you were lucky to buy an album for less than £15 on its first week. That was when it made sense to buy a single for 1.99

That's clearly not true though as album sales are the lowest for ages too!

That's clearly not true though as album sales are the lowest for ages too!

 

erm yes but incase you hadn't noticed, illegal file sharing is bigger now than 10 years ago. Jesus when i was younger and didnt have the net, the only way you would get to hear album tracks would be to buy the cd, now you can type it into youtube and go back and listen again and again.

 

People also now have the opportunity to download individual tracks from albums on itunes rather than the whole thing.

 

What i am saying is, not long ago i bought a single for 3.99, if you can buy an album for 6.99 in its first week, its not rocket science to work out why people arent bothering with singles anymore.

My next question, after saying that I'm a CD collector I'm also a DJ... What am I gonna mix if not a CD? :o Mixing on CDs was always a strange practice towards DJs that used the vinyls, but mixing mp3s is c**p :P

If I ever see a DJ mixing mp3s , that's the worse idiot on the planet :w00t:

I cannot use the tracks I downloaded legal way on-line, because they're only for private use :cry:

So, I guess the CD single DJ editions will still exist, but not a shop for normal shoppers? :wacko: Which means the CD dedicated to the DJs will cost worse than the vinyls now :blink: xox.

I think the reason behind album sales are low, its because people are cherry picking individual tracks, people just want to hear/download the good tracks, and not bothering to buy the album.

^^ exactly, like i downloaded give it to me by madonna and thats the only song from it i have and will probably buy.

 

I think thats what a lot of people did as it charted well in its opening week. Before downloads, i would have probably bought the album just to be able to hear the new sound.

I think the reason behind album sales are low, its because people are cherry picking individual tracks, people just want to hear/download the good tracks, and not bothering to buy the album.

 

This is just awful :( How about inviting everybody inside a studio when the artist wishes to record 10 tracks ans maybe only 6 will be accepted by the audience???

How about destroying the album idea? Each artist launces a song now and then and that song goes on downloads, without all the studio session over a new album??????

I guess in that case no more stupid album release for collectors, but loads of money to launch a CD single for every new song an artist launches

This things are far over the original idea of selling music, and I cannot imagine nowadays, artists are at the hand of fans :angry: Madonna gets a new album on the internet and she wants a single out... She does a video, but idiots download the other 3 tracks they like from the album (songs that get top 10 soon).... What??? :mellow: Is this the the way to otivate the artists to create music? :teresa: Cheers to the record companies that have so great ideas to let the download going on <_< xox.

Edited May 29, 200817 yr by Cornholio

erm yes but incase you hadn't noticed, illegal file sharing is bigger now than 10 years ago. Jesus when i was younger and didnt have the net, the only way you would get to hear album tracks would be to buy the cd, now you can type it into youtube and go back and listen again and again.

 

People also now have the opportunity to download individual tracks from albums on itunes rather than the whole thing.

 

What i am saying is, not long ago i bought a single for 3.99, if you can buy an album for 6.99 in its first week, its not rocket science to work out why people arent bothering with singles anymore.

We don't have to talk 10 years though. Illegal file sharing was no smaller two years ago than it is now, yet albums sold more then and they're cheaper now!

 

People do have the chance to download individual tracks but you can tell by how few of them reach the singles chart that few people actually do!

 

 

I think the reason behind album sales are low, its because people are cherry picking individual tracks, people just want to hear/download the good tracks, and not bothering to buy the album.

Where is your proof for this? If this were the case they would be in the singles chart every week. But they're not, you may get a 3 or 4 tracks hit the iTunes top 100 off a major album for a couple of days but that's it. It really isn't the reason!

Where is your proof for this? If this were the case they would be in the singles chart every week. But they're not, you may get a 3 or 4 tracks hit the iTunes top 100 off a major album for a couple of days but that's it. It really isn't the reason!

 

We could go on about this forever - i mean to use an example i know of, GA csf has had more than 2 million views on youtube, can you imagine how much this has affected sales? Its not that hard to work out, the reasons are staring us in the face.

For example, I've seen album tracks for Madonna's new album in the top 200, lower down the chart nothing troubling the top 40 though, tracks like Miles Away and Give It 2 Me, which I don't think Give It 2 Me is available as a download yet.

 

That's just one case and not long ago there was a couple of 80s tracks in the top 200s from the Ashes To Ashes soundtrack album, but we could argue the point for a long time as Robin just said.

I used to buy 3 or 4 CD singles a week - and I continued to buy them until last summer as I liked having the actual CD for my collection. But, I have since moved over to i-tunes, not bought a CD single for nearly a year and slimmed down my CD single collection hugely.

 

I would not be at all bothered if they disappeared now, sadly.

 

Well in my opinion i think people should be allowed to keep their cd physical buyings its just plain wrong to let it all go downloads

Well in my opinion i think people should be allowed to keep their cd physical buyings its just plain wrong to let it all go downloads

Its not a case of allowing or not!

 

Music stores are businesses, and the sales of CD singles just do not make enough money these days. It is only natural to reduce them to a niche market.

Well in my opinion i think people should be allowed to keep their cd physical buyings its just plain wrong to let it all go downloads

 

Its all about £££££ and if the balance sheets dont add up, then they're gonna stop stocking them.

I honestly don't care. It's already dead here in America. Last single I ever bought was Crazy by Britney Spears.

 

Downloads are the way of the future tbh.

I just wish a heavily anticipated download single would come along and sell 100k+ downloads in its first week, we know that millions of people in the UK have MP3 players so its entirely feasible for it to happen...

 

didn't leona bleeding love shift over 100k downloads the week it sold 218k?

sure the 3 x factor winners singles did so as well.

For example, I've seen album tracks for Madonna's new album in the top 200, lower down the chart nothing troubling the top 40 though, tracks like Miles Away and Give It 2 Me, which I don't think Give It 2 Me is available as a download yet.

 

That's just one case and not long ago there was a couple of 80s tracks in the top 200s from the Ashes To Ashes soundtrack album, but we could argue the point for a long time as Robin just said.

Yes but that's a few hundred sales which may or may not have stopped people buying the album. so why are albums selling tens of thousands less?!