CD retailers advocate nice'n'safe

Subject: RE: CD retailers advocate nice'n'safe
From: hesperis
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 11:36 AM

edonkey isn't that great for music downloads anyway. soulseek is better, especially for obscure stuff that you just can't find in stores or for sale anywhere online either.

Subject: RE: CD retailers advocate nice'n'safe
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 12:02 AM

What you have to look for is dedicated (and deranged) retailers like CAMSCO, who cheerfully stock thousands of titles in hopes of selling one or two copies of some of them. It's no way to make money, which is why the stores don't do it.

Subject: RE: CD retailers advocate nice'n'safe
From: Midchuck
Date: 30 Dec 04 - 10:06 AM

You're right about choice of CDs in music stores falling off. But there are probably more CDs produced and available than ever before. It's just that so many of them are produced privately, in small lots, and have no commercial distribution.

The problem is that the music biz is all about million seller hits. And there are fewer and fewer of those all the time, as more small recordings become available, and the public taste gets more and more fragmented. Considering the average musical quality of million seller hits, I think, myself, that this is a Good Thing. But then I'm not a music company executive. (Well, actually, I suppose I am, at a microsopic level...)

Solutions for the consumer:

1) Internet downloads (whether informal or strictly legal is a matter of individual conscience).

2) Go to live gigs of people you like and buy CDs at the gig. I strongly advocate this, but I'm prejudiced.

Peter.

Peter.

Subject: RE: CD retailers advocate nice'n'safe
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 30 Dec 04 - 09:50 AM

Just checked out dDonkey. Looked at the FAQ files. Seems you need to turn off your firewall to use it.

No way, Jay!

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: CD retailers advocate nice'n'safe
From: open mike
Date: 29 Dec 04 - 09:49 PM

edonkey? thgat's a new one on me...

Subject: CD retailers advocate nice'n'safe
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 29 Dec 04 - 06:09 PM

CD retailers advocate nice'n'safe
By Kirsty Needham, Consumer Reporter
December 30, 2004

Consumer choice in the music store has fallen dramatically, with a new study showing a 50 per cent drop in the number of CD albums released annually.

The analysis of new music released in Australia between 2001 and 2004 also found a 30 per cent fall in CD singles released. Although the number of music DVDs doubled in this period, it was not enough to counter the decline in CD variety, and overall the number of music products released fell by 43 per cent.

A former in-house lawyer for the Australian Recording Industry Association, Alex Malik, conducted the research as part of his PhD into music copyright enforcement. He argues that internet file-sharing is not to blame for falling music sales, but reduced musical choices.

Record company mergers that took place this year will mean choice is further narrowed as artists are culled from labels, he said.

"If you go into a typical CD store these days, there's the new Australian Idol CD and of course there's the other new Australian Idol CD. You'll also find more DVDs and accessories than ever before ... But if your tastes are a little eclectic or go beyond the top 40, you may be in trouble," he said.

Mr Malik said consumers are being forced to purchase CDs from offshore internet retailers.

"In many circumstances, fans of particular genres of music may well have had no choice but to obtain music through peer-to-peer services such as Kazaa and eDonkey because their musical demands were simply not being met by Australian record companies and retailers," he said.

Country music, world music, contemporary Christian and folk music were particularly hard to find locally.

Mr Malik said record companies were under greater pressure to meet profit targets set by head offices overseas and are "largely concerned about the bottom dollars rather than choice for the consumer".

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Music/CD-retailers-advocate-nicensafe/2004/12/29/1103996608131.html