As downloads are on the up, are CD’s on the way out like their predecessor Vinyl? Vinyl’s popularity grew throughout the ’50’s all the way until the early ’80’s when cassettes became the most popular format for buying music up until the ’90’s. CD’s were soon to come into play and over took cassettes as they were slowly outlawed. Now downloads are on the up, is the end of music in a hard copy format soon to come to an end? That is by no means to say that there aren’t still some musicians that sell incredibly well, including the likes of teen idol Justin Bieber, who sold around 5.6 million records, Eminem, who sold 5.7 million records and Lady Gaga who topped the best sellers list with a whopping 5.8 million records both CD and Digital last year. Are there still enough artists selling vast volumes of CD’s to keep it from dying out? There are both pro’s and con’s of CD vs Digital. CD’s were part of the whole package for a band, “A little something extra for the fans” said Brian Cannon, sleeve designer for Oasis in their heyday. Even though there has been a decrease in CD sales over the last few years, it seems that it will be a while before they become obsolete. Ripping the cellophane off a CD and putting it in a player waiting to hear new songs from your favourite band is an unforgettable feeling. Is downloading an album bit of an anticlimax? Downloading music means that it can get to the listeners quicker than ever before. Hit Tv Show ‘Glee’ released
its most popular songs after each show, and nearly every week they were in the top 5 in the Billboard Charts in the USA. Unbelieveable statistics for a very new TV show. Download brings music to your finger tips. As well as downloading music, websites like Spotify and Youtube allow you to listen to music online without purchasing at all. Being able to listen without purchasing the songs will inevitably cause a decrease in sale. It is in fact believed to have decreased music sales by roughly 13% in the last year. According to data from Nielsen Sound Scan, CD’s accounted for roughly 90% of album sales in 2007. By 2009, the percentage of CD sales were 79%, with 20% going to download and the last 1% being split between other media. Since 2009, download has become more popular. In just 4 and a half years, downloading has reached a new high with over 500 million legal downloads. Downloading is increasing as a more popular way for buying albums due to a more competitive price and quick accessibility. Music has moved with the times. From vinyl to cassette to CD and now to download. Maybe the format of the music we listen to isn’t the point? Maybe the final outcome is just as important. Music is just as fashionable as ever and whether you buy a CD or download from iTunes, nobody can resist a hit.