Why People Still Buy CDs

If you read the news at all, you probably think that the CD format is dead and buried, but that's far from the truth.

Last year there were more than 170 million CDs sold in the United States alone that could be counted. No one knows exactly how many were actually sold, since so many sales (like direct sales at gigs and online from an artist's website) are under the Soundscan radar.

But as we've recently seen from Adele, there's a large audience out there that will happily buy a CD, sometimes even along with streaming the same music online.

The following graphic from a recent BPI report shows the reasons why many people continue to buy and use CDs.

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Streamers Buy Music Too

While nearly everyone in the music industry complains about the decrease in sales, a new study by the British Phonograph Industry (BPI) and the Entertainment Retailers Association has found that streaming may actually be at least partially responsible for whatever sales there are. Of course, this study was conducted in the UK, but it may be significant nonetheless.

The study found that streaming was a way for users to sample music and artists before actually buying. In fact 44% of the respondents that paid to stream said that their album buying habits have either increased or remained the same.

66% of the music fans surveyed also obtained their music from multiple sources, meaning streaming and CD or vinyl. The general consensus was that users streamed to discover, but actually purchased something they fell in love with.

Surprisingly, the results reflected not only older music fans but younger consumers as well, with the tastes of millennials falling in line with baby boomers in this area.

Also, about 33% of respondents would prefer a "one stop shop" where they could stream content, but also buy the CD on the platform if they wished as well.

Finally the survey found that around 40% of all albums are purchased in the final quarter of the year, with about half of these coming at Christmas. CDs and vinyl records are still prime gifts.

It just goes to show that there's still life in the CD side of the business, which may very well be around for longer than industry analysts predict.

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Superstars Account For Less Than You Think

Most of us think that only the top 1% in music, the superstars, make most of the money.

Well, they certainly do when you take touring and merch into consideration, but not when you look at sales and streams, which will surprise many industry naysayers.

Rockonomic did a recent study based upon Nielsen's 2014 music report and found the following:

• The Top Ten CD albums account for only 6.624% of total CD Album Sales.

• The Top Ten Digital Tracks account for only 3.759% of total Track Sales

• The Top Ten On-Demand (Stream) Tracks account for just 0.98% of total Track Streams.

If these figures hold true for this year as well (and there's no reason to believe they won't), it shows that when it comes to streaming, the average consumer's taste goes beyond the hits.

It seems that the music business is a lot more democratic than we give it credit for. Artists and bands should take heart in the fact that there appears to be plenty of room for other music besides what comes from the superstars.

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