FEATURE:
CD:OK?
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Can the Compact Disc Survive Post-Lockdown?
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I am keen to tackle a few…
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music-related aspects in the context of the current COVID-19 situation. Venues are struggling at the moment and, if they were to close permanently or there was any financial hit, that could have big ramifications for the venues’ staff and the infrastructure. Many people focus on venues and festivals as places of fun and community and, whilst any detriment to the survival of venues/festivals would be a blow, we overlook the situation regarding those people who run and make venues/festivals happen and buzz. I shall cover that, as there is some doubt as to whether the live music sector can continue as it did prior to lockdown. Today, I am looking at physical music sales, and specifically the decades-lasting compact disc. I have been cheered, like so many people, to see record shops open – albeit, with social distancing and fewer customers. Even when record shops were shut, many people were ordering from their local, and getting vinyl delivered to them. I feared that many of the best record shops would not survive the current times, but it does seem that, as shops are open again, the future is rosier than we all thought. During the past few months, vinyl sales have been doing well, and it seems like there is a dedicated appetite. If it were not for online sales, it would be heart-breaking to think where record shops would be.
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Whilst we visit our local record store, how many of us are still invested in C.D.s? I mainly buy compact discs online, but I try and pick one up when I go to a record store. I have a C.D. player in my car, and I do love the portability of the compact disc. Vinyl is great, but it does cost more and there is that issue of having to listen to a record in a fixed spot. I think the C.D. has struggled against the tide of streaming, and vinyl remains converted because of the sound quality, the tactile nature of it, and the fact that the format is more reliable and sturdier than the compact disc. I was reading an article from Music Week, when they spoke with HMV’s owner, Dough Putman. HMV is a chain that relies on the sale of compact discs, in addition to vinyl. He explained how compact discs might fare as we move forward:
“Physical sales have bounced back to their pre-Covid market share with the reopening of stores, although retailers had already made up some of the lost ground during lockdown with online sales.
With the market moving to streaming, CD sales for the overall market were still down 47% year-on-year last week. But, based on his experience at Canadian chain Sunrise Records, Putman believes the format still has a future.
IN THIS PHOTO: Doug Putman/PHOTO CREDIT: John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator
“I always tell a story that seven years ago, when I bought Sunrise, the buyer of CDs at the time said, ‘You know, the CD has been dead for 10 years, that's what they tell me,’” said Putnam. “So I think it's one of those things where sometimes we're too quick to say, ‘iTunes is going to kill it’; then we're too quick to say, ‘streaming is going to kill it’. What we're seeing is that, in my belief, nothing really ends up killing it. People will still want to buy a physical format, whether it's a CD or vinyl, and I think they will continue to do that”.
Vinyl has suffered less during the lockdown, although Official Charts Company figures show a 32% year-on-year decline in units for the overall market last week. But the week-on-week sales increase for vinyl last week hit 28%.
“Vinyl has always performed really well for us,” said Putman. “Catalogue outperforms [the market] for HMV, so catalogue has still been really strong. CD is similar in that new releases are strong, but really catalogue drives our business. It’s the same when we look at our studios and visual suppliers: new releases are good but catalogue is HMV’s really great sweet spot”.
I feel vinyl will continue to sell, and we will see a surge in sales when social distancing is relaxed further on 4th July – and another peak when social distancing is scrapped. Online sales are helping many record shops tick over, but I always associate C.D. sales with local bands and merchandise, rather than people going to a record shop and buying one.
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That is a shame, as I grew up listening to compact discs, and I think they genuinely have a place. I can appreciate that, in many ways, vinyl provides a more enriching sonic experience, and there is something special about riffling through crates and flipping through records at the local record shop, whereas the experience is different when you shop for compact discs – less about diving and browsing, and more, I feel, about buying something by chance. I also feel compact discs are, perhaps, more a generational thing - maybe middle-aged or older listeners favour them; fewer younger buyers are out there -, but Bob Dylan’s new album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, hit the number-one position; it sold 34,000 units. 29,000 of these were C.D. sales - showing that, for certain artists at least, there is a huge market for C.D.s. I think physical formats are very important now, as many artists and labels criticise streaming services for the way artists are paid – and how little they generate from streaming revenues. I am not sure how much of a C.D. sale goes to an artist vs. the label when we purchase one, but many artists still have a lot of love for the compact disc and want people to buy them. Maybe we own fewer C.D. players and stereos than record players, but I would hate to see the format die! I do feel that the music-buying public will inject more money into record shops, and I do hope that there is a mix of vinyl and compact discs. Over the next few months, the music industry will open up again – maybe venues will hibernate until later in the autumn -, and the desire to own physical music will increase. I feel that, whilst compact disc sales will dip, they will continue to sell, and stores like HMV will continue to stock them. I completely get people’s love for vinyl, but I do hope that the humble and still-relevant compact disc will still be a part of everyone’s musical collection. After so many years of the C.D. shaping our lives, it would be such a shame if its life…
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ENEDED in 2020.