2002 MUSIC: SAME OLD SONG MUSIC SALES CONTINUE TO PLUNGE.Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer Music sales continued to plummet in 2002 as file swapping See peer-to-peer network and file sharing protocol. and DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. sales continued to take bites out of profits. Losses for the top five music corporations were expected to reach 13 percent over last year. CD downloading and burning helped explain a 7 percent drop in album shipments and a 69.9 percent increase in counterfeit disc seizures, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The decline in shipments comes on top of last year's overall 5.3 percent drop. The totals reveal continued falloff fall·off n. A reduction or decrease: a falloff in car sales. Noun 1. falloff - a noticeable deterioration in performance or quality; "the team went into a slump"; "a gradual slack in in CD sales - in the process debunking de·bunk tr.v. de·bunked, de·bunk·ing, de·bunks To expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug. the theory that file sharing leads to sales. In a survey of 860 Web-connected music consumers age 12 to 54, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America, Washington, DC, www.riaa.com) A membership association of music recording companies. Its goal is to promote the record label industry and protect the rights of copyright owners. It was a major contributor to the SDMI digital distribution system. reported more than half said they downloaded more and purchased less. ``This industry must continue to combat piracy in new and innovative ways,'' said RIAA President Cary Sherman. By midyear, fewer than 25 albums sold more than 1 million copies compared with the same period in 2001 when 37 titles had done as well. DVD sales went through the roof in comparison, doubling previous year totals. While first-week sales of around 300,000 copies of a CD is considered extremely good, 7 million copies of ``Lilo 1. (operating system) lilo - Linux Loader. 2. lilo - first-in first-out. & Stitch'' sold in combined VHS (Video Home System) A half-inch, analog videocassette recorder (VCR) format introduced by JVC in 1976 to compete with Sony's Betamax, introduced a year earlier. and DVD formats during its first five days in stores. The concert business got a welcome jolt from the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and Paul McCartney, who were among the year's top touring acts, raking in more than $1 million per performance. And in terms of the albums that actually did earn their keep in 2002, Eminem and Nelly provided the best news. With sales of $6.9 million, ``The Eminem Show'' took the lead, followed by Nelly's ``Nellyville'' at $4.2 million. But sales of all CDs were down 13 percent from 2001. This year, the hottest 20 titles - a quarter of which were country albums - sold only 51.1 million copies, compared with the 68.5 million sold by last year's 20 biggest hits. And even more good news is on the way for country. In just the first two weeks of her blockbuster new album, ``Up!'' Shania Twain sold more than 1.5 million units. Meanwhile, the year's biggest rock title, Creed's ``Weathered,'' was a holdover hold·o·ver n. One that is held over from an earlier time: a political advisor who was a holdover from the Reagan era; a family tradition that is a holdover from my grandparents' childhood. Noun 1. from its release in 2001. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band performed songs from their CD ``The Rising'' at the Forum. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (2 -- color) Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards and drummer Charlie Watts played to adoring fans at the Wiltern Theatre in November. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion