Country Music Sales Down in 2008, How Can This Trend Be Reversed?
By: Matt Bjorke
What's that you hear? Is it the sound of the last traditionalist angrily leaving Nashville? That's the argument people outside of the Nashville record industry would have you believe, particularly based upon The Nielsen Company's just released data about album sales. According to their Nielsen SoundScan report, Country music album sales dropped 24% from the previous year's numbers and as was chronicled in an earlier news report, if it weren't for Taylor Swift and her four million albums sold, Country music would probably be in even more dire straits.
Given the demographics for Country music, perhaps the genre was hit even harder than others in the sense that its blue-collar roots show that people aren't buying albums. Perhaps the traditionalists are right. Perhaps they're wrong and country fans have finally bought mp3 players and iPods as the prices have come down to attainable levels and, thusly, these fans have transferred from album purchasers to single download purchasers (as this area of the industry continues to grow at remarkable levels). The industry, then, could blame digital distribution sources --mainly iTunes/Apple-- for insisting on a-la-carte prices at 99 cents per song.
The question that needs to be asked, then, is what can Country music do to reverse its fortunes? The genre could promote more than the latest fads for one thing. If the continued success of Alan Jackson and George Strait and the relative success of Jamey Johnson is any indication, it's that there's a huge group of consumers who want --no desire-- to hear the traditional sounds of Country music's past. It is true that artists like Sugarland and Taylor Swift do bring in new fans to country music but these people typically like more than just Country music. They like multiple genres and aren't inclined to dig too deep into the vast history of country music. So, one way to stem the tide of declining album sales would be to appeal more to the traditional minded fans out there. There is a market for them and if you even got radio to play more traditional sounding songs along with the latest pop-leaning hit then maybe, just maybe the sales wouldn't have dropped as much as it did this past year. We might even see Country music rise back up.
Speaking of Radio, a bright side to the over-all numbers is that the radio industry is healthy as six of the Top 10 artists in airplay terms are Country music artists. Rascal Flatts are 2nd, Toby Keith is 3rd, George Strait is 5th, Tim McGraw is 6th, Taylor Swift is 8th and Alan Jackson is 9th. What this means is that radio and fans still want to hear these artists and radio is inclined to give them what they want. Perhaps labels will do the same and find more artists that present great music.
READER'S COMMENTS
cecil says:
Posted: Wednesday, September 16, 2009
do you need somebody in south africa to sell your old time country music. i am willing to give it a shot if nobody else is doing it
CECIL says:
Posted: Wednesday, September 16, 2009
ALL I WANT TO KNOW WHERE IN SOUTH AFRICA WE GET THE OLD TIME MUSIC COUNTRY ONLY
CECIL says:
Posted: Wednesday, September 16, 2009
I AM READING THAT COUNTRY MUSIC SALES ARE DOWN, ONE REASON BEING THAT COUNTRY MUSIC IS NOT FREELY AVAIABLE IN SOUTH AFRICA PLEASE ADVISE AS TO WHERE US COUNTRY MUSIC FANS CAN GET SOME CD,S
Wildcard says:
Posted: Saturday, April 4, 2009
Matt, you say, one way to stem the tide of declining album sales would be to appeal more to the traditional minded fans out there and by promote more than the latest fads. You must be dreaming, pal. But you are right, when you say the declining country music sales are not due to the sound of the last traditionalist angrily leaving Nashville. Everyone knows that Nashville artists are releasing mainly greatest hits album, live albums, duet album, tribute albums, even gospel albums. But Nashville artists are not releasing what fans want most, new albums. It would seem that Nashville is hard up for new material and that's the reason for declining album sales. Until Nashville starts cooking up some new albums a-la-carte, instead of warming up stale leftover albums, I seriously doubt you will see country music sales rise anytime soon.
Rick says:
Posted: Monday, January 5, 2009
Chuckles, I was happy when CDs of new country releases were being offered at promo prices ranging between seven and ten dollars during their release weeks at stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, and Target. Sadly that seems to be on the decline as the low prices sometimes motivated me to purchase CDs I wouldn't have paid over $ 10 for. Oh well.....
chuckles46742 says:
Posted: Sunday, January 4, 2009
i believe that they are finally paying for the empty promises of cheaper album prices that was made back when cd's came into the popular medium. i can remember paying 8 to 10 dollars for vinyl lp's and the rave at the time was go to cd's and find a less costly medium...this from sam goody and recordland and other mainstream lp sales outlets as well as several leading record industry publications. I have yet to see a cheaper price on new music albums. I am a recording engineer myself and having been involved in the mass production process for my clients for years. I know the true cost for a complete celophane wrapped ready to sell (complete with UPC ) CD is in the cost range of 25 to 50 cents outlay cost per unit for the product. There are many who would argue that the main cost in any successful cd release is the marketing of the product, but even still that and the inflation of the dollar still makes the pricetag of mainstream artists far more expensive than the old vinyl medium. This is certainly a different perspective from what most percieve but when considered carefully, makes that 15 to 20 dollars you spend on an album seem like a rippoff. So in light of that i would say that if you can get your music for your ipod for pennies on the dollar from some internet download store, GO FOR IT!!! the fat cats of massproduced music have had it good for way too long and deserve a kick where they sit for lying to the public about cheaper albums when cd's took over where vinyl left off.
Rick says:
Posted: Friday, January 2, 2009
So much of the blame for declining country music sales can be laid right at the door of Top 40 mainstream country radio. As the gate keepers who choose what to spin on the air and what to ignore they have huge sway over what people hear and therefore purchase if so inclined. By targeting a female demographic a lot of men have quit listening and I think that has impacted sales. Also the specific female demo target audience may be great to pitch to advertisers for clothes, shoes, and minivans but what if this demographic has little interest in music purchases and considers them a low priority. As long as Top 40 country radio shuns new quality artists with a traditional sound and focuses on sound-alike pop-rock crap country artists the decline will continue. A playlist featuring a wider variety of artists embracing different styles of country (as long as the music is of good quality) would do a lot to bring listeners back to Top 40 country radio that abandoned ship long ago. I don't expect it to happen as instead radio will be focused on finding the next Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood to increase listener numbers. Also the fact there are fewer music retailers for CDs and the one's that remain aren't stocking as many CDs and aren't promoting them like they used to doesn't help either.
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