CDs had a good run. The Compact Disc medium for digital audio recordings has been around since 1982, and in widespread use for many of the following years. As downloadable and streaming audio become more popular, it was only a matter of time before stores stopped providing shelf space for the lowly Compact Disc. Best Buy has reported that they will stop selling physical CDs completely starting on July 1st, while Target has asked for a change in the way they pay for CDs which may result in them dropping them from shelves as well.
CD sales have been declining, as one might expect. Billboard reports an 18.5% drop in the last year alone. Downloadable music was all the rage for a few years, but even that has taken a back seat as streaming services have been the major focus for audio lately. There is absolutely a benefit to having access to nearly anything you’d like to listen to for a small monthly fee.
Best Buy will no longer offer shelf space to CDs as of July 1st, but curiously they will continue to carry vinyl for a few years due to a commitment made to vendors.
While Best Buy has said they’re just going to drop CDs cold turkey, Target is taking a slightly different approach. They may still end up removing CDs from their stores, but they’re giving record labels a bit of an offer to consider first. The overall gist is that right now stores (like Target, for example) pay record labels up front for the media that is stocked on their shelves. Any unsold merchandise is shipped back to the labels, again at the store’s expense. Target is proposing more of a consignment-like deal, where labels ship merchandise to Target stores, and Target would then pay for merchandise as it is sold to customers. Target offered a similar ultimatum to digital video suppliers. Imagine walking into Target’s electronics section and seeing no music and no DVDs… that is a definite possibility based on what Target has tossed over the fence at audio and video suppliers.
What do you think about big box stores dropping, or at least threatening to drop physical music CDs? Have you already moved on to downloadable or streaming services? Tell us what you think in the comment section below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
[button link=”https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8097929/best-buy-to-pull-cds-target-threatens-to-pay-labels-for-cds-only-when” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Billboard[/button]
