A long time ago, I built up a collection of Classical, and Jazz CD's thanks, in part, to membership in BMG's Mail Order Club.
In the late 90's I sold the lot, 1000 CD's, for much needed money at the time.
I've always regretted that decision.
MP3's, IPods, and more have eaten into the profitablity of CD's and some companies are now feeling the pinch.
BMG Music Service has recently announced that it would close shop by 2010.
A sad state of affairs.
One of the problems music continuity clubs face is the growing popularity of MP3 players, which give consumers access to music whenever they want it.
“Consumers want control of the process instead of the other way around, like it used to be,” Benjamin says. As a result, “continuity is in the process of reinvention” as clubs try to figure out how to give members more control. She points to HCI’s Silkies hosiery club, which now allows members to decide how often they want shipments as an example.
The growth of digital music is behind Bertelsmann’s decision to shut down the BMG Music Service club, company representatives said during its annual analyst meeting in March. The company’s US CD business fell in line with market declines in physical music sales, which dropped off by more than 20% in 2007, according to Bertelsmann. The US DVD club also didn’t perform well, and Bertelsmann is considering shutting it down, too. Book clubs, however, are relatively stable.
One of my favorite bloggers, La Shawn Barber, likes reading news like this. ;-D
I can’t articulate clearly why I like reading about things like this. I’ll try. Businesses have always depended on the habits and desires of consumers. But the proliferation and popularity of the digital music file (along with file sharing services) caught the music industry unawares. I’m fascinated that the majors are scrambling to figure out what’s going on and how to capitalize on it. They slept too long. They woke up, and the party was over.
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