Piracy And Dvds Blamed For Slump In Cd Sales
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday January 24, 2003
Piracy, DVDs and computer games have been blamed for the first fallin CD sales in Australia in fouryears.
Figures released by the Australian Record Industry Association yesterday showed a 4.4 per cent fallin recorded-music sales lastyear. Wholesale prices fell 4.5 per cent, further eating into company profits.
CD sales fell 5.5 per cent, compared with almost 11 per cent in the United States. In Australia just under 47 million CDs were sold.
Among the reasons for the fall, said the association's chief executive, Stephen Peach, were piracy, increased interest in DVDs and computer games, unsettled economic conditions and a tough retail environment.
The latest threat was ``backyard CD piracy", he said, where pirates copied thousands of blank CDs using home computer software.
While the fall in sales was disappointing, it was in line with worldwide trends and had been expected, he said.
The music industry was embracing online distribution, and many companies making their catalogues available on the internet.
``The music industry, both here and internationally, remains committed to continuing its efforts against online and CD piracy.
``We are also seeing the continued development of legitimate online business models, particularly in the US, with many companies, including all the majors, now engaged in online distribution of their catalogues."
Music fans are also embracing the DVD format, and DVD music sales almost trebled last year.
The fastest growing genre was R&B and urban.
While American artists such as Eminem and Shakira continued to dominate the market, CDs by Kasey Chambers, Kylie Minogue, george, Silverchair and John Farnham made up 26 per cent of the sales for the top 20 albums.
Kasey Chambers's Barricades & Brickwalls was the third-highest selling CD behind new releases from Eminem and Shakira.
2002 ARIA RESULTS
* CD sales fell 4.4 per cent; the average wholesale price fell 4.5 per cent
* Sales of new releases fell 0.7 per cent, demonstrating continued strong interest in new music
* Local repertoire accounted for15.6 per cent of the market, downfrom 17.2 per cent
© 2003 Sydney Morning Herald
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