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HMV slashes CD prices

MARINA STRAUSS

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 1:57 PM EST 27/08/07

Faced with tough competition from online music sources, HMV Canada is cutting prices on thousands of CDs by as much as 33 per cent ...Read the full article

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  1. Mike Charters from Canada writes: Just goes to show you how much we have been ripped off by the record labels and the stores.

    Maybe they should have done this years ago!!!
  2. Stude Ham from Outremont, Canada writes:

    Will these price cuts apply to really desired cd's or will they just apply to specially imported cd's priced at the old 65 cent canadian dollar?

    In other words, are the prices of the imported products finally being made to reflect the new value of the canadian buck?
  3. John14555 Smith from Canada writes: Why would you buy them if anything can be downloaded for free from Torrent sites in minutes, and you dont even need to leave you home! Sounds not logical to me. Record companies have been riping off people for years and I have no sympathy for their lost profits.
  4. John14555 Smith from Canada writes: 'All Art must belong to people.'
    Vladimir Lenin
  5. Philip Yu from Toronto, Canada writes: Now mind you, I've little clue as to whatever passes for popular these days. I don't like paying a premium on older titles but if I cross into other genres or am interested in something from an artist or group that isn't that sought after, it's a reality. So it depends on what you're looking for.
  6. Ron Lepine from Canada writes: I have always wondered why a Stones Cd, or any CD of an artist that has put out a record say 20 years ago, and the price never goes down, just up.
    It would be nice to know just what it costs these co's to put a CD out.
    I remember Albums, and what they cost - 6-9 dollars, and the promise that CD's would be as cheap or cheaper, for consumers. Like that happened.
  7. Andrew Pearson from Montreal, Canada writes: Is this a news item or an 'infomercial'?
  8. s like from Canada writes: I'd buy a lot more CD's if they we're priced in the $12ish range; $14 tops and then only if it's something special. At $16-20 a pop, I just don't see the value.
  9. Jake ---- from Fort McMurray., Canada writes: Thank you LimeWire, you have saved me a fortune.
  10. Hugh Draper from Canada writes: Music and reading are not keeping up with the dodos.
  11. Frankie @^_^@ from Canada writes: We are being ripped off by these companies anyway,AND, especially now since the dollar has risen. Me I listen to the radio. Dont need cds to accumulate dust in a corner.Laugh at people who have hundreds. Like they are going to listen to them all.
  12. Turning Tide from The Bay, Canada writes: Too little... too late...
  13. L B from writes: Jake ---- from Fort McMurray., Canada writes: Thank you LimeWire, you have saved me a fortune.

    Enjoy all those viruses and spyware - that's not the right way to get your songs.
  14. brokeback mountain from Canada writes: they should start doing the same for dvd's and stop whining about pirate dvd's
  15. dave ross from Canada writes: John14555 Smith from Canada writes: 'All Art must belong to people.'
    Vladimir Lenin

    John, North Korea will welcome you with open arms.

    Always remember, while everyone may grouse about record company profits it is often through them that the composers and musicians get most of their income.

    John, do you ever pay to attend a live performance?
  16. Green Jerry from Canada writes: The market decides what we pay for music. And right now the market says we go to Limewire. Or, pay 99 cents for songs you like on any given cd.
  17. Carey K from Canada writes: HMV is very expensive for certain items (if you can find what you're looking for). Limewire is abouyt a thousand mile wide and 2 inches deep.
  18. D. Hall from Canada writes: We'll see how much the real reductions are. Like others, I have found CD prices to be an outrageous rip off. I hate to copy - not because of the companies (or the Stones for that matter) but because many of the artists I enjoy do not make tons of money. I know I could just send them a check to cover royalties, but it ain't going to happen. So hopefully the costs will come down enough that I can just play by the rules.

    But the companies need to heed the warning from Turning Tide - even us old folks know how to burn!
  19. Sasha Furlani from Toronto, Canada writes: I love this BS from retailers like HMV. I consistently see every CD I have interest in buying at independent retailers in Toronto for significantly cheaper than what HMV sells them for, yet they are this giant retailer that should be able to undercut anyone. I saw a CD at HMV for $23.99...the exact same one for $17.99 at Soundscapes.

    So HMV, where do you think I'm going to shop? It's easy to simply blame online sales and piracy, but the reality is HMV tries to sell CDs like it's still 1989, and when it fails, it whines and lobbies the government to recreate those conditions. It's sad really. Here's a suggestion...reduce your inflated prices and try to innovate in your industry a little. Isn't that what good businesses do?

    Until then, I will continue to remind everyone I know that they can almost always find the CDs they're looking for at a better price than at HMV!!
  20. Stan L from Canada writes: Downloaded music is not the answer...it's simple and cheap but you get what you paid for in terms of sound and compression quality (although maybe not so much of a concern for people how just wnat say top 10 hits for as long as they are a hit and no more). As for the CDs....HMV and by extension the record companies still don't get it.....I am not buying any CD's anymore that have DRM on them. If I can' t make a copy for my car or load onto my iPod, I don't care how cheap it is....it is not worth the price.
  21. Alain Chicoine from Halifax, Canada writes: The only price cuts I've noticed so far are on specialty CD's originally over-priced to being with - $25 . Now they've been reduced to $20 - still too much for a CD. I won't pay more than $13.
  22. Wir sind das Volk from Toronto, Canada writes: Now Cdn consumers just need to do the same thing for car prices that are still way too high for a 95 cent dollar; oh, and airline prices, cable TV prices, cell phone costs and bank fees and... Maybe it would help if we had governments that advocated for consumers' interests instead corporate oligopolist ones...
  23. N. Reader from Canada writes: compare the prices at HMV versus a on-line retailer like CDUniverse and you'll understand why CDU gets my $$$ as opposed to HMV - a 33% reduction is not enough even if it's across the board - the next thing that should come down are the hyper inflated DVD costs
  24. Jean-Paul Sartre from Halifax, Canada writes: Classical music lovers can download any number of recordings from the entire 5000 CD catalog of the Naxos company for only $20 a month. How can a retail store compete with that ?
  25. Tony . from Waterloo, Canada writes: About friggin' time! It's not just the on-line music sales that were hurting HMV though, I'm sure it's the fact that they tend to be consistently 20-50% more expensive then other 'brick-and-mortar' retailers that was hurting things!

    I used to shop for my CDs at HMV, but for the past 10 years their prices have just not been competitive at all! Even the big chains like Music World and Future Shop were MUCH cheaper, let alone some of the independent and second-hand CD shops! HMV might have gotten by through having a larger selection than most of the others, especially in smaller towns that don't have good independent shops (ie just about everywhere outside of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver), but now with on-line stores that's no longer the case. Future Shop's website has had almost every CD I've ever gone looking for, including a good selection of Canadian indie stuff.
  26. L M from Canada writes: CDs are archaic technology, and I'd be more inclined to buy a buggy whip than a CD. I can't be bothered to organize and store little round pieces of plastic. And then copy them to a more useful file format. At least a buggy whip would be a conversation piece and interesting to look at.
  27. Coffee.... Just Give me Coffee from near Toronto, Canada writes: J Law - take it a little easy on our friend Gord Winters. I have to pay a surtax on my blank CD's because the federal government has decided I'm going to use them to download anyway, so I should pay the fees for the artists. If that's true, then only HMV is hurting because I refuse to pay $17 for a pretty CD case and cover art, when in reality, most CD's today are two good songs and a waste of space.

    I'll buy them from iTunes for 99 cents and burn them for my car - perfectly legal. I get a CD full of stuff I really want, and it costs me $12 total. I can keep a copy in my car, in my house and in my computer.

    If HMV wants to compete, there shouldn't get a CD in the store over $9.99.
  28. B Lam from Canada writes: Jean-Paul Sartre from Halifax, Canada writes: Classical music lovers can download any number of recordings from the entire 5000 CD catalog of the Naxos company for only $20 a month

    Who who want to list t classical music in FM quality?
  29. luminal velocity from Toronto, Canada writes: Although I still buy CD's ocassionally, I recognize that major label artists don't get much money from CD sales, most support themselves by touring. Buying CD's isn't supporting artists as much as it's supporting big record companies. Now it's easier than ever for small independent labels, or even the artists themselves, to produce and distribute their own music via either CD or via a download fee, thereby cutting out the unnecessary brokers, the big record labels. In this scenario, the artists will make the money directly as it should be, not big record companies.
  30. Wir sind das Volk from Toronto, Canada writes: True Coffee. And there are niche sites, like emusic, for independent labels, that sell songs for about 30 cents each. A full album costs only $3 to $4 and its legal too. I'm planning to sell or store a big chunk of my CD collection; the format is cumbersome and takes up too much room. One wonders is the days of HMV, as with Blockbuster etc. are numbered.
  31. B.C. Expat from Ottawa, NCR, Canada writes: How come A&B Sound never caught on in Eastern Canada? They were always several dollars less than the competitors for pretty much anything you could name.
  32. Tim Bee from Canada writes: Ron Lepine from Canada writes: I have always wondered why a Stones Cd, or any CD of an artist that has put out a record say 20 years ago, and the price never goes down, just up.
    It would be nice to know just what it costs these co's to put a CD out.
    I remember Albums, and what they cost - 6-9 dollars, and the promise that CD's would be as cheap or cheaper, for consumers. Like that happened...

    They are still albums, it's just that the medium is different. CD's as opposed to vinyl.
  33. C C from Canada writes: L B from writes:

    Enjoy all those viruses and spyware - that's not the right way to get your songs.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    That may have been the case 5 yrs ago, but it's really a non-issue anymore on file-sharing networks, torrent sites, or downloading sites like Rapidshare or Sendspace. Anyone with a little familiarity with downloading can recognize genuine files from the corrupted or fake ones.

    If you have another reason against downloading music, that's alright... but to claim that it's harmful for your computer is ludicrous.
  34. luminal velocity from Toronto, Canada writes: The stealing of a physical object is universally considered illegal/ immoral by all modern societies, and it has been this way for some time.

    Historically, it wasn't considered immoral to copy the work of artists on the grounds that society benefited from the resultant greater exposure to such art.

    The protection of 'intellectual property' (songs, poems, etc.) from 'theft' is a recent concept that began in the 20th century with corporate marketing of artists' work -- it's a concept tied primarily to capitalism rather than to morality.
  35. Frank N. Stein from Canada writes: Darwin evolution is happening in the music industry. It's just time before music stores are gone, just like the old typewriter stores a few decades ago.

    Downloads are the future for music and movies. The longer these industries ignore it, the more they will have to fight back for market share in the future, or face extinction.

    Seems like these music stores will bleed all the way to their extinction.
  36. J M from Canada writes: Artists definitely get a percentage of every CD sold, that is of course after they have re-payed their 'recoupable' costs. The tax on 'Burnt CD's' definitely isn't going to the artists and wouldn't be enough anyways if it was.

    The CD is coming to an end and it is very unfortunate. I don't care that the major labels are feeling the pain, with their single oriented approach and short term thinking they deserve to get hurt a little bit. I don't like the fact that the artist is the one in the end that suffers. That being said $10 is a fair price for a CD and there is still enough margin in it for everybody, especially majors who produce their discs in such quantity that they get the cheapest manufacturing price out there. What needs to happen is for more attention to be put to the quality of the disc and every track on there as well as the quality of the sound. We need to get away from the hypercompressed files pushed to the max as they are very fatiguing and can't be listened to for extended periods and focus more on a quality sound that has dynamic range and does not hurt the ears to listen to.

    Hopefully the industry will rise above all the pirating and get creative to overcome this problem. Complaining about it and whining to the government to impose laws and such isn't the way.
  37. Blair . from vancouver, Canada writes:
    one thing that isn't mentioned is that if hmv is not stocking something, it's super expensive to order in they take weeks and weeks if they offer to do it at all. is any wonder people go to cdbaby, amazon, itunes or limewire or just give up and buy something else.
  38. Marc-Andre Gendron from Canada writes: Too little, too little.

    I was in HMV on the weekend, had stuff in my hand ready to buy, paused to think, thought, and decided to check online and see if i could get the songs I wanted from the net. I could.
    I did buy a few things from HMV, but not everything I was going to buy.
  39. ghostofpatbuchanen buchanen from Victoria, Canada writes: Record stores still exist? Who shops there?
  40. Just a Lucky So-and-So from Tirana, Canada writes:
    Cry me a frickin river, HMV!

    God bless Limewire, Kazaa and Torrents.
  41. Jake ---- from Fort McMurray., Canada writes: John L, I hope your singing is better then your spelling. What's your bands name I will see if i can find it on Lime Wire. If it's not on LieWire it means you are one Sh@#y artist.
  42. ashlynn mai from Canada writes: wow we must have been getting gouged pretty hard, cut them another 33% and you will earn my business back. i won't download from file sharing or torrent sites, as i do not like to steal, i just do without.
  43. Earnest Jones from Canada writes: If CDs are to survive, they will need to be competitive on value. This usually means content, convenience, features or price. So instead they keep pricing them over alternative sources, continue to load albums up with filler, and cripple them use with DRM.

    It took the retail and recording industry this long to figure that out after double digit declines in units and nothing but bitching, complaining and sueing their own music fans for over half a decade.

    There's one thing I won't ever accuse the music industry about and that is being checked into reality.
  44. John L. Murlowe from Canada writes: PRICE INCREASES :: WHO'S DOING THE RIPPING?

    It is notable that in 1963 a Beatles vinyl LP sold for $5.49 in Woodwards. Now 44 years later a Beatles CD can be had for -- what? -- $20 at HMV.

    Gasoline in 1963 :: about 25 - 30 cents a GALLON / 6 - 8 cents a litre. Gasoline in 2007 :: $4.68 a gallon / $1.04 per litre

    A house in 1963 :: $15,000
    A house in 2007 :: $300,000

    So, who's doing the ripping off?
    Record companies at 4 TIMES the price?
    Or oil companies at 18 TIMES the price?
    Or house builders at 20 TIMES the price?

    CDs are a good buy
    Let's hear it for downloading gasoline and houses..
  45. Carl Hansen from Canada writes: Let me know when CD prices are cut 90%. Until then I will continue to STEAL music.
  46. N. M. from Canada writes: You know the reductions are only going to be offered on back catalogue items.

    The paradigm is in the middle of shifting and while many independent artists are adapting to take advantage of it (and control of their art and their occupation) the majority of the (big) industry has had their head in the sand and is only now pulling it out to cry, 'It's downloads! Downloads have done this.'

    I believe there is plenty of evidence to demonstrate that people are not as interested in the over-compressed (be it of the dynamic or data type) plagiarism that's being passed off as new music these days. There are DVDs, video games, and on-line communities vying for disposable time and income, yet meanwhile A and R departments have been gutted and instead of investing in and developing artists, the big labels give an artist one shot to recoup their advance and justify the immense marketing (not rehearsal or studio time) budget.

    The business model for music is changing and much of the industry (SOCAN too hopefully) will suffer if not die completely unless they are able to adapt and find their niche whereby they actually form a symbiotic rather than parasitic relationship with artists.
  47. Sam Snead from Canada writes: With all the middlemen in the distribution channel fans are getting farther away from the artist. There may be some short term pain involved but I think breaking down the distribution channel and bringing the artists to the people will result in a better, bigger fan base, much more engaged fans and more importantly much more varied music reaching the public.
  48. Carl Hansen from Canada writes: Hey Murlowe, a USED Beatles album, Abby Road, is worth 35-80 dollars depending on the pressing and condition.
  49. John L. Murlowe from Canada writes:
    Carl Hansen from Canada writes: Hey Murlowe, a USED Beatles album, Abby Road, is worth 35-80 dollars depending on the pressing and condition.

    -------
    Interesting, I wonder what my 'Twist and Shout' vinyl album would be worth with original cellophane wrapper and Woodwards price sticker...
  50. Brian Van Ezel from Ottawa, Canada writes: Can I buy them in MP3 format please?
  51. David Plouffe from Calgary, writes: All those posters that state the prices are to high for cds, I would like discounts/prices slashed from your line of business i.e lawyer fees lowered, reno fees chopped.
  52. Vickky Angstrom from Canada writes: Dave Ross: This is what unfettered, unregulated free enterprise looks like. The Lenin quote you had a right wing knee jerk reaction to was ironic. You really need to look at your belief system if you think that businesses like HMV should not have to adapt to market realities and yet you immediately invite someone who quotes Lenin to move to North Korea. What exactly do you think would be correct in this situation? What exactly do you believe?

    Me, I support a mixed free market economy - with powerful social programs, public education and healthcare and regulations to protect our health and environment from corporate rule.

    As for HMV -- so little of the profit they are making goes to the artists I couldn't care less if they go under or not. The laws that protect them are not related to their contribution to our economy (they don't actually make anything) or society - so they should have to sink or swim in an unfettered free market.
  53. Jim Mohagan from Canada writes: N. M. from Canada writes: '...meanwhile A and R departments have been gutted and instead of investing in and developing artists, the big labels give an artist one shot to recoup their advance'

    Good post N.M. In so many ways the music industry has been the architect of its own demise. As you say, during the 80s and 90s labels shed their A&R function in order to reduce costs. New artists had to do their own development and show up with a pretty well finished product. Once the internet became a viable distribution option, artists skipped labels altogether and went directly to their fans.

    The article mentions price cuts on the Beatles and Pink Floyd, so you're right, it looks like mostly back-catalog stuff. Buyers for this are mostly older folks. Despite the fact that CD sales continue to drop year after year, last year their were actually increases in Country and Classical CD sales. Again, older folks.

    But the real money is in selling Contemporary Hits to youngsters - thats where the unit numbers are. Always were. But this is the very segment that has moved online. Download sales were up 20% last year in this critical market.

    CDs won't disappear, but they will certainly fade as music continues to move online. The traditional music industry companies will disappear - they missed the boat. It's worth noting that the 3rd largest retailer in 2006, Apple, didn't even come from the music industry. It's a computer company.
  54. Job of the book from Canada writes: Wave to the future, and good bye to the music industry stranglehold. CD's have always been ridiculously priced. It's about time that the message was received.
  55. Rusty Waters from Canada writes: Older folks may continue to buy CDS for awhile but the younger group who are in love with technology will get their music online. They will buy it online if its a resonable price otherwise they will download it for free. That's the fact of the matter and the sooner the record companies and artists accept this they can take steps to offer something appealing to music consumers in the form of access, product and price. With music on the internet there is no cost in manufacturing cds so those savings should be passed on to the consumer. The only cost is the recording cost and most bands can afford recording equipment since its very cheap. The new model is going to be band records music themselves, uploads to their site and fans download it for 10 cents a song. An entire album would cost about a dollar so if a million albums are sold that's a million dollars. The highly paid executives at record companies should start looking for new jobs. Most people connect their mp3 players or their computers to their sound systems now a bring up their particualar playlist immediatately. Don't have to fool around with CDS... The day will come when you are having a party at your house and one of the guests requests a song all you have to do is to type or to speak into your computer the name of the song and the computer will grab it from the internet and play it immediately. The database will be controlled by musicans who will get the 10 cent fee transfer to their account realtime. If there are a hundred million parties going on around the world on a Saturday night and someone at each party asks for Honky Woman...then The Stones will have a big night. Classical musicans probably will still have to depend on the CBC for change.
  56. N. M. from Canada writes: Thanks Jim but the real money is not in hits, it's in 'The Long Tail' as Chris Anderson described in an article by the same name in Wired in October 2004. It's a great article.

    'The average Barnes & Noble carries 130,000 titles. Yet more than half of Amazon's book sales come from outside its top 130,000 titles.'

    'Rhapsody [on-line music streaming service] streams more songs each month beyond its top 10,000 than it does its top 10,000.'

    Read the article if you really want to understand the new paradigm forming as a result of the unlimited virtual shelf-space, the demise of the need for local audience, the ease of distribution, the ability for an individual to search and find what suits their tastes, and all the other benefits that internet technology offers. A whole new business model is on its way and won't be stopped.
  57. K W from Canada writes: Gosh.HMV thinks their price is competitive enough to challenge iTunes?LOL. $19.99 for a cd is not what the consumers want right now.They want cheap and affordable like buying it from itunes.For less than $10,people can but a whole album.If they don't want the whole album,then they can pick and choose the songs they like.
  58. N. M. from Canada writes: Hey Rusty,

    I agree with you, except for the bands recording themselves. Hire a properly trained engineer. There is a craft and very large knowledge base required to do a really good recording.

    Ideally some good gear (i.e. not 'pro-sumer' Behringer equipment) would be nice but if one must use this cheaper stuff that is all the more reason to put it in the hands of someone who knows how to get the most out of it.

    We all want a more quality product and that should include the production as well as the musical content.
  59. M T from Canada writes: Cds are a dying format. It's that plain and simple. Basically, the record companies are reaping what they sowed, and taking the likes of HMV down with them. The record industry has been ripping off the consumers since the demise of vinyl in the mid-late eighties. Besides the huge markup on CDs at the time ($25-30 for CDs compared to $12 for LPs), they also saved a lot on shipping (ever try to mail records?). All of a sudden the major labels were making enormous amounts cash. Now, they're like junkies trying to maintain their fix.
  60. Rusty Waters from Canada writes: N. M. I agree, can't skimp on quality.. Quality use to be big when I was in University a long time ago. We could easily pick up on if something was poorly recorded....Even our listening equipment was important....ribbon tweeters...Common jargon was ribbon tweeters....midrange sound lacking...too little base...etc. and today alhough as you get older one's hearing gets less senistive I find mp3, because of the compression I guess, don't sound good as compare to tapes..metal tapes...a good record played on a record player with a good needle or a cd. Kids today even my son have good stereo systems in their cars and don't seem to bother them that mp3s don't do justice to their quality system. Anyway quality is still important to me.
  61. Jim Mohagan from Canada writes: N. M. from Canada writes: '...the real money is not in hits, it's in 'The Long Tail' as Chris Anderson described in an article by the same name in Wired in October 2004. It's a great article.'

    I've read it N.R., and that's my point. The article here is about retail CD stores and that's where the Hits matter. It's precisely that fact that online music distributors don't have limits of shelf-space that are their strength. BTW, 'the long tail' is not a new paradigm - that's what a back-catalog is.

    'The average Barnes & Noble carries 130,000 titles. Yet more than half of Amazon's book sales come from outside its top 130,000 titles.'

    Books are different. Whether you order online or by in a store you get the same physical product - the book. Online music files are an alternative to physical CDs.

    'Rhapsody [on-line music streaming service] streams more songs each month beyond its top 10,000 than it does its top 10,000.'

    Again, that's my point. Rhapsody doesn't sell CDs. Besides top sellers, it provides a quantity and range of music that would be inconceivable in a retail store. This is an example of Anderson's concept - independents can reach their audience in numbers that retail never could.
  62. Erik Richards from Winnipeg, MB, writes: I don't know how companies like HMV have the balls to charge $20 for a band's CD that was released 20 years ago. I'm sorry, but groups like Pink Floyd, The Stones, The Police, etc., have been milking their most popular albums - or in the case of The Police, their compilation albums - for YEARS, with no increase in quality.

    Twenty years ago I paid $15 for new CDs and I see the same ones going for even more money today? And industry people want to put the blame for their losses on music piracy? Here's a clue, music executives (and talent, for that matter): put out some good recordings of music that people like and we'll buy it. Some will steal it, sure, but you put out good music at a realistic price and people will pay for it most of the time.

    But $20 for Synchronicity? No thanks A&M, Sting, et al.
  63. John Stanton from Canada writes: Too little, too late. Free is the new price. Thanks Torrents!
  64. Andrea C from Canada writes: I was paying around $13 for Bryan Adams, grapes of Wrath, U2 and so on about 20 years ago. At 3% inflation, that would make those same albums $23.50 today. Not as bad as it seems, although that's still too much for me to pay.
  65. N. M. from Canada writes: Great Jim, we agree. You're right, the retail CD stores depend on the institution of the 'hit' but I would submit that that institution is crumbling.

    To clarify, I did not mean to express that 'the Long Tail' is the new paradigm but rather that the possibilities afforded by internet distribution (availability, rendering geography practically irrelevant, and search abilities) are forming a new paradigm(s?). The two quotes I offered aren't for CDs, sure, but the model can be applied to them and, as you know, an example is offered later in the article about how in three clicks you can go from Amazon's title page featuring a Britney Spears album to ('others buyers like this') Pink to ('is influenced by') No Doubt to ('is somehow related to') some ska band from the 80's that never sold a lot of records but now is getting a lot of traffic.

    Again, you're right, the independents have caught on to this and have cut out the middle men. They increasingly dodge the monopoly that is TicketMaster and produce their own tours in effect taking complete control over their art and their business.

    Whether it's singles, albums, or mail-order CDs, internet distribution is where the industry (as in the art) are headed and I don't see how things could turn in favour of the retail CD stores.
  66. jay smith from oakville, Canada writes: Show me one album nowadays which has really good songs all through and i will buy even at $30. Lousy teen boppers, loud and incoherent rockers, women haters and gun loving rappers, excuse me have no time for such music artists.

    I have not listened to latest music in 3 years, guess what, if there was a gem i would have known about it, but guess not.

    I agree with other posts that HMV prices are typically 15-20% higher than other stores.

    They should be selling CD's at $7 or $8 and witness the explosion in sales and they can practically extinguish the underground market for good.
  67. Terry Terry from Brantford, Canada writes: Over 90% of the torrent files I download, are stuff like the Stones, the Who, Allman Bros, etc., stuff that I bought on vinyl, mostly back in high school when I had hundreds of albums. I paid for the right to own that music. If I hadn't forgot how to use the record player, I'd still be listening to them. 'Let it Bleed' for $19.99; or 'Let it Bleed' for $0.00, hmmm -- let me think about it.
  68. Scenic Sask! from Canada writes: The delivery of goods and services is constantly changing. I'm an old fart and can remember when milk was delivered daily to our door (no, not by horse-drawn cart). If we can download and burn CD's, print our own album covers, why do we need to go to a store to buy them? On the same note, if the manufacturing of, delivery of and marketing of these same albums is eliminated and almost all the money goes to the artist, shouldn't the price be MUCH lower. (sorry all you 'record store' people, get a different job)
  69. Rick in Redneckland from Canada writes:
    The recorded music industry had their chance to capitalize on the downloading craze. Instead, they dragged their heels and dithered, focusing on illegal downloading rather than innovating their business.

    Too late. Bill Gates et al. now control it all. You lost your chance. Live with it.

    Fair payback for years of outrageous markup, I'd say.

    Karma's a b!tch, eh?
  70. Eric the Red from Canada writes: Stan L from Canada writes: Downloaded music is not the answer...it's simple and cheap but you get what you paid for in terms of sound and compression quality.

    I beg to differ. The music I download is at a higher bit rate and quality than the crap stores put out.
  71. C C from Canada writes: Erik Richards from Winnipeg, MB, writes: I don't know how companies like HMV have the balls to charge $20 for a band's CD that was released 20 years ago. I'm sorry, but groups like Pink Floyd, The Stones, The Police, etc., have been milking their most popular albums - or in the case of The Police, their compilation albums - for YEARS, with no increase in quality.

    ---------------------------------

    As recently as 2003, Sting was making $2000 in royalties for 'Every Breath You Take' each day!
  72. Alex M from Canada writes: hahahaha pay for music? are we animals? cut the prices all you want, you can't compete with FREE!!
  73. B Johnson from Canada writes: Ron Lepine

    It cost 35 cents for the industry to create a finished cd. Distribution is another 30 to 40 cents. This figure is from the year 2000. It's probably cheaper now - about 1/3 of the cost. Big name artists see maybe 1 to 1.5% of the entire cost. The rest see a minuscule fraction.

    Markup on one cd is approx. 2,000%. That was the justification for acceptable copy protection. At the time cassettes and albums retailed at $8. The courts allowed the industry to increase the sale price of cds to $18 to compensate for possible piracy and home copying.

    The big story here is the number of cuts on a cd. One hit on a cd was usually the max. while the rest were just fillers. Then the killer for the industry was finally because only the industry's dictated song releases could be heard by the public. They dictated what was popular or not by mere exclusion of artists and their work. That's why so many artists support music downloads.

    I know all of this because my husband worked in the music mfg. industry for 17 yrs.

    My attitude towards downloading is simple. If I already own the music (have purchased it) on one or more formats (45 rpm, album, cassette, or cd), I have purchased the right to copy it for my own personal use. For instance, why should I buy 2 cds - 1 for the car and 1 for home? If I see something online that I have already bought but wish to preserve the original in mint shape (album for example), I will download it to an mp3 format.

    Online music downloads give users a greater variety of music to chose from and provide access to great new music that otherwise would not be heard if it were left up to the recording industry.
  74. Chuck the Canuk from Moncton, Canada writes: Too little too late for the dinosaurs in the music industry. They would need to cut prices by another 80% to get back the customers who left them for the internet. Me included. These companies are greedy, scum sucking, bottom dwelling, parasites who should be taught a harsh lesson by consumers who have been ripped off and gouged by them for decades. I wouldn't purchase another music CD if my life depended on it. I used to buy a dozen CD's a year, and I am pretty old, I also purchased 45's, 33's, and collected 78's, but nothing for the last 10 years.
  75. Mister Fartleberry from Toronto, Canada writes: Poor CDs. They can't re-invent the format over and over again to get us tech-crazed suckers to keep buying the same titles repeatedly like video. I figured Fleetwood Mac would be in the 2 for $10 pile by now. What a ripoff.
  76. John L. Murlowe from Canada writes:
    FREE DUMB

    So... how many of you dough-heads are prepared to provide your services for free?

    If music stores don't sell CDs, how do artists get paid? And if artists don't get paid, how do you get your music to download? I suppose next you'll want free computers and free internet hookups to download your free music which you'll listen to with free headphones or free speakers.

    Next it'll be free dope you want to enhance the experience. And free papers to roll the dope in and free lighters to light it. And why not free H from Afghanistan since our troops are already risking their lives for it.

    And how about some free munchies to go with that free dope and free music? Yazzuh! Gimme my free dumb.
  77. Gerry Dunnhaupt from Toronto, Canada writes: With the Canadian and US dollars being practically at par, we should absolutely refuse to pay higher prices for CDs and books in Canada than in the US. In fact, experts now predict that the Canadian dollar may rise to $ 1.02 US before the end of the year.
  78. John McMortimer-Boyles from Undisclosed Underground Location Safe From Nuclear Attack, Canada writes: Of course, a nice and inexpensive way to legally listen to CDs is to borrow them from the library. :)
  79. shizdan clause from lower mainland bc, Canada writes: 20 dollars for a cd is cheap?!?!

    When Cd's first came out they were like 12-14 dollars. Not to mention that if you buy cds you are supporting the record industry in suing of, well, you. So yes I really want to enlarge the warchest of the enemy by buying overpriced crap that they go out of their way to make difficult to rip. Not to mention that they claim your only buying a 'license' to listen to it, except if your cd gets scracthed that is. Then you have bought a 'physical product' and should go buy another one. Die industry die.
  80. N. M. from Canada writes: Sorry Eric the Red, but I doubt the music you download is of better quality than the uncompressed 44.1KHz/16-bit quality of a CD. What would really convince me to start purchasing online would be if I could get tracks at higher resolutions and bit-depths but I'm not aware fo nearly anyone doing so.

    As another aside, I recommend checking out www.sellaband.com - now that's the model the 'hit' institution should be following!
  81. joe blough from edmonton, United States writes: Only $20 for a CD now? Get real! And they say this is a deal?

    Amazon.com, not even Amazon.ca is the way to go. It's easy to get free shipping and the price is right. The selection? H U G E !

    $20 for a CD on sale - where is all that $$ going? CD's are pennies, and its almost old technology to produce them. Someone is being sold down the river.
  82. joey calara from Canada writes: When will the major labels realize the reason music sales have plummeted is because of the lack of real artists in todays genres.
    In the past artists made music as musicians and expressionists. Today the corporate agenda has turned music into a cheap marketable whore. No wonder kids are turning back. Music is a reflection of an eras trends and conciousness. Tells you where we could be headed...
  83. Lemmy Nothor from BCN, Spain writes: I admit that I have downloaded music from internet. I use my computer like a juke box..........a free juke box.
    But if I come across something that is excellent........this happens roughly once a year..........I will buy it in original format, ie CD in a store, because as far as I know, MP3 sucks big time in terms of quality of sound reproduction. I spent 9000$ on a sound system, I sure ain't gonna play MP3 crap on it.
    So, it is safe to say that record companies actually MAKE money with me, even though I download stuff for free.
    I did the same when I was a kid...........listened to the radio for free, if some stuff was good I'd go out and buy the record.
    I think the problem today is that there are thousands and thousands of new stuff coming out every day (worldwide)...........and 90% is crap.
  84. gord winters from Canada writes: J Law from Canada writes: People like you are scum, Gord.

    that hut J.

    i guess you are dumb enough to think the record companies actually give money to the artists. the artists would starve a lot less without HMV or the record labels they represent.

    but i'm scum, what would i know..

    enjoy the stupidity, loser.

    you sound poor. that must really suck

    lol
  85. William Hanlon from London, Canada writes: As a member of HMV's target market, I can tell you that this strategy is not going to work. The price reduction is not significant enough to be worthwile when competing against either free or half-the-price downloads. And HMV does not have credibility as a retailer of 'cool' music; it is seen as an outlet of the most disposible, top-twenty, sugary music on the pop charts at any given moment.
  86. Jeff Gulley from Hradec Kralove, Canada writes: Jay Smith from Oakville.... Check out Diorama by Silverchair. I agree that most of today's music is garbage, but there are diamonds in the rough.
  87. Tired Ofitall from Canada writes: Ten cents a title is my price point. Until that happens, I will download away!
  88. bill wilson from Taiwan writes: Still a rip-off. Why should I pay $20 for a cd of the same music that I bought fr $5 as an album when it first came out. The music industry has only itself to blame for its current predicament, a predicament grounded in greed.
  89. Crusty Curmudgeon from Ottawa, Canada writes:

    It costs roughly $0.12 to make a CD (including pressing) -- where EXACTLY is all that money being made from the sale price.

    How many billionaire spoiled rich kids (performers) and how many amoral billionaire CEOs live the life of luxury because stupid people spend their meagre earnings on this totally useless junk?
  90. harpers doc from Toronto, Canada writes: I stopped shopping @ HMV a while ago, after I got tired of the arrogant idiots who worked at the flagship store in Toronto. The attitude of some of these clerks are just annoying, they act as though they are doing you a huge favour by even opening their mouth. When requesting a CD that needed to be ordered, I asked how many weeks it was going to take for it to come in. The loser that worked there stared at me and said 'Well, it's not like going to Mcdonalds for fast food...' Duh...I really thought it would appear in plastic wrap under a hidden CD warmer in 5 minutes. I of course changed my mind about buying any CD's that day because I didn't like his attitude. They lost me as a customer. Even young people want good customer service, and this seems to be lost on HMV. I don't have to deal records store jerks online.
  91. D K from Canada writes: 1) HMV is an expensive ripoff
    2) Dollar goes up 33% prices finally decrease 33%. Big surprise.
  92. Bob K from United States writes: I had some sympathy for retailers but Ziggy Stardust for 25.99, and now they say they are doing us a favor at 19.99

    let them close their doors
  93. Thom Ringer from New Haven, United States writes: Wow -- the only thing I feel about record stores is pure nostalgia, the way my Boomer parents probably feel about the malt shop jukebox or the drive-in theater. I worked in a record store in Toronto the year that Napster, cheap CD burners, and mixtape mailing lists first dropped. We all knew our days were numbered, which probably explains the level of customer service most of us provided :)

    I haven't purchased a new disc from a store like HMV in nearly half a decade. I either get it used, order it direct from small labels (at a fraction of the cost), or buy it on iTunes & E-Music -- which are growing exponentially better. The marginal cost of adding new content is so cheap, and the scope for new demand is virtually limitless, that I am sure that virtually every album that's ever been minted will soon be available.

    As for piracy, I think record companies have realized that once sites like iTunes realize their full potential and become sufficiently convenient, and they are willing to release all their catalogue online, piracy will taper off and cease being a big impediment to profit. It is annoying that they are trying to extort the last bits of profit from the 'album-as-hard-good' business model, and doing it by threatening home pirates with legal action and hypocritical moral browbeating, but they'll cave soon enough and everyone will get what they want: consumers will get access, variety, and economy, while the companies will get yet more money. Hooray!
  94. Brit . from Canada writes: 'luminal velocity from Toronto, Canada writes: The stealing of a physical object is universally considered illegal/ immoral by all modern societies, and it has been this way for some time.'

    Making corrupt cd's that do not play in cd players is considered illegal too. The last cd I bought would not play in my cd/dvd player and the store refused to refund my money. I will not buy another cd and will only steal music online forever.
  95. S Fairbairn from Toronto, Canada writes: I did not grow up in Toronto and while some of you had the luxury of only paying $13-$15/CD, we were stuck with A&A paying over $22/cd!! This was 1985. As a 16-year old, that was a heck of a lot of cash that my lower middle class family didn't always have. I cheered when A&A went out of business, I felt not a twinge of remorse when Sam closed his doors and HMV has been super crap sinc