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CD Sales Plunge 54.6% in 2008 From Peak Year in 2000

blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com — "As if the news from Wall Street, Detroit, and Starbucks was not bad enough, DigitalMusicNews.com is reporting that CD sales have now fallen to less than half the number of CDs sold in their peak year, 2000. In 2008, CD sales were down 54.6 percent from 2000, or a giant 514.6 million units less."

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 30, 2009

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  • jongos, on 01/29/2009, -3/+62The biggest joke of all is on the Music industry by Apple, why does a friggin computer company command the music industry now? Because instead of embracing MP3's they turned Napster into a scapegoat, sued it into oblivion and then tried to revive it two an half years later as a total rip-off. Meanwhile, Apple methodically revolutionized the industry with the one thing the music industry hates: innovation. If they had taken this approach in 2001, perhaps they wouldn't be feeling the pain quite as bad.

    It's just hilarious to me how they literally GAVE their industry away to that guy in the black turtleneck.
  • inactive, on 01/29/2009, -4/+63This figure doesn't meal the music industry is dead, digital downloads are overtaking. Keep in mind that Apple iTunes Store alone sold more than a billion songs since it launched.
  • Mohdoo, on 01/30/2009, -4/+41Interestingly, I don't think I've bought a CD since 2000.

    And really, cmon, CDs? May as well report how VCR sales have dropped 100%!
  • StigNordas, on 01/29/2009, -2/+28Even 50% down isn't as bad as I thought it'd be.
  • techmint, on 01/30/2009, -4/+30In other news, horse and buggy sales are down a whopping 99.99999999%! Something must be done! Think of the families of the blacksmiths... The ripple effect!!!
  • Renton, on 01/30/2009, -4/+27http://thepiratebay.org/
  • LexWalk, on 01/29/2009, -2/+23Over 8 years? Can we really call that a "plunge"? More like a steady decline of 7% annually.
  • rodon, on 01/30/2009, -2/+20Compact disc is a 26 year-old technology.

    This just in: VHS sales are down too.
  • jhelbert, on 01/30/2009, -1/+19This is like saying that Cassette Tape Sales have plummeted 99% since their peak in 1990...

    - I made these numbers up, but you get the point. The medium is dying, it doesn't reflect anything else.
  • infamousjr, on 01/29/2009, -1/+18In other news the sky is blue.
  • inactive, on 01/30/2009, -2/+17He must be hungry.
  • inactive, on 01/29/2009, -6/+21I still buy CDs because you get a higher quality then a downloaded mp3. There IS a difference. Plus, I like collecting.
  • xenuxenuts, on 01/30/2009, -0/+15I still buy used CDs. Then I rip them and put them in a box. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
  • Linguo, on 01/29/2009, -9/+21Good, I hope the plunge into the ground. Digital downloads is obviously the way of the future. Why don't they just die already?
  • inactive, on 01/29/2009, -0/+12mean*
  • Jabb0, on 01/30/2009, -0/+12maybe if they subtracted 54.6% from the 18 dollars they try to charge...for one cd.
  • Sazafraz, on 01/30/2009, -1/+13This just in.. Casset Sales in the U.S. dropped from 442 million in 1990 to 274,000 by 2007... Economy is killing the Music Industry...

    Who writes these articles?
  • roebeet, on 01/30/2009, -0/+11You are not alone. Plus, the CD becomes an instant backup.
  • inactive, on 01/29/2009, -7/+17***** CD's.. oh my god, old technology doesn't sell.. no one wants to waste their money.. people don't buy crappy cars from the 1980's either any more..
  • bbqsalad, on 01/30/2009, -0/+10except artists make nothing off cd's
  • roebeet, on 01/30/2009, -2/+12@Renton: Well played.
  • roebeet, on 01/30/2009, -1/+11Give me a major digital distributor that offers a lossless audio format for download, and I'd agree with you.
  • davidrools, on 01/30/2009, -0/+9Agreed. The only mp3 albums I buy are when they're on sale for $5 or less on Amazon. I'd happily pay an extra $2 to $3 to get a physical CD, album art, and rip to FLAC.
  • techmaster, on 01/30/2009, -1/+10In unrelated news, the quality of music in 2008 is about 45.4% as good as it was in 2000...
  • TheFuzzyOne, on 01/30/2009, -4/+13mp3s can support a higher bit rate than cds can. Or if you really care, you can get FLAC.
  • twiztidsinz, on 01/30/2009, -0/+9convenience.
    Much easier to grab a full album off iTunes or something from the comfort of your PC at home/work than to go out and look through CDs in a store.
  • bdbr, on 01/30/2009, -0/+9CD sales are being replaced by digital singles. Its what happens when major labels focus on two songs per album...now people just get those two songs.
  • inactive, on 01/30/2009, -0/+91 billion x .99 cents = a lot of money ^_^
  • sigmaman2, on 01/30/2009, -0/+9LOL

    "Do you remember live bands? They sounded way better than vinyl."
  • Aurabolt, on 01/30/2009, -0/+9flac
  • fuzzynyanko, on 01/30/2009, -0/+8There was a time where putting a CD into your computer was potentially dangerous to the OS as well
  • St0neman, on 01/30/2009, -0/+8Dude, those two cars you mentioned are the worst of the era. It would only be a good deal if you got a free mullet haircut with the car(s).
  • Typhoon2009, on 01/30/2009, -0/+8I don't know... I enjoy having CDs. I get to have the album art, I can listen to it in the car (since my car doesn't have an auxiliary jack AFAIK...), I can have it in whatever format and bitrate I want, and if my hard drive explodes I don't lose my collection.

    On the other hand, it can be hard finding CDs in brick and mortar stores (Many times I've gone in a store intending to buy a specific album from an artist, only to be unable to find it). So that leaves either Amazon (which requires waiting for it to ship; this is America, convenience or death!) or the Amazon MP3 store or iTunes store.

    Also, I know they don't get a big cut, but I usually buy the albums I like to help support the artists.
  • ruarctb, on 01/30/2009, -0/+7I haven't bought many CDs of late. I do not steal music either. There is just simply nothing off major labels I've wanted. When I do buy mp3s off Amazon, its usually small label stuff I've found via Pandora or friends.
  • SaxxonPike, on 01/30/2009, -0/+7"Do you remember CDs? They sounded way better than these newfangled digital downloads."

    "Do you remember vinyl? They sounded way better than these newfangled CDs."
  • akshay626, on 01/30/2009, -1/+82008 also was a very terrible year in music
  • Dougman82, on 01/30/2009, -0/+7While I enjoy the comedic value of that comment, it still pains me to read it. Very few bands actually sound better live than in the studio. Very few.
  • pacman122, on 01/30/2009, -0/+7Pay no attention to the man in the black turtleneck cashing in on the music industry failure to keep up with the times.
  • bbqsalad, on 01/30/2009, -2/+9this just in: this just in
  • inactive, on 01/30/2009, -0/+7Does this mean my out house will not be emptied this month? And where did the Milkman go? Maybe its just the kids stealing it.
  • dyslexicsUNTIED, on 01/30/2009, -0/+7At least someone recognizes that there is an actual difference in quality. But you get the same in FLAC...
  • vocalyouth, on 01/30/2009, -2/+8believe it or not, vinyl is in a pretty huge upswing right now, as well.
  • Pedobear, on 01/30/2009, -0/+6I hope you're trolling, sir.
  • Weezergames, on 01/30/2009, -0/+6Thanks Metallica(sarcastic voice)
  • yocouchdigga, on 01/30/2009, -0/+6and a stark 17.3% as good as in 1990
  • KrayzieKyd, on 01/30/2009, -2/+8Irrelevant.
  • UberNick, on 01/30/2009, -0/+5@"There IS a difference [in quality]"
    The audiophile in me empathizes with this point, but I'd challenge anyone to tell the difference between various mp3 bitrates and wavs. Plus, if you prefer CD over vinyl, I'd have to question your audiophile-ness
    http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2007/11/few ...
  • Gizza, on 01/30/2009, -0/+5I often wonder what would have happened if they had bought out Napster instead of fighting them from the beginning. If they had turned it into a pay service while it was at it's peak how many people would have just stuck with it because it's what they were already using.

    At the time there wasn't a huge number of alternatives such as Kazaa that popped up when Napster went down.

    It's too late now though.
  • Karai, on 01/30/2009, -1/+6My sound system can't differentiate much past 128kbps mp3s. I see no reason to download FLAC files when I personally can't hear any difference from a 128kbps mp3 or ogg.
  • inactive, on 01/30/2009, -0/+5I haven't purchased a CD since 1993 and I only got a net connected pc in 2000. $30 a disk for one song and god knows what else is too much.
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