Many are realizing it, few talk about it: the record market is changing (negative or positive?) in recent years.
To tell the truth it has always been, with news, proposals, changes of direction. But all this led the listener/purchaser to a perhaps wider, more satisfying and more aware choice. Especially in recent years (from the last pre-pandemic period to today), the situation has become more chaotic, sick, absurd. We now explain why.
After us, many customers and buyers have also noticed some things in particular:
- The increase in the cost of vinyls (and now significantly of CDs too!);
- The disappearance of many titles on CD (even entire discographies!);
- The publication of monumental box sets with very high costs.
The questions naturally arise:
- Why all these increases? (the official reasons don't stand!)
- Why are there no titles on CD that are still in high demand?
- Who has the ability to spend certain amounts?
The sad answer lies in a simple commercial\economic discourse: the record companies would like to convey everything on digital and the exploitation of the editions.
Why? Very simple: all profit, no defects, no returns, no warehouse full of goods.
At the same time they want to ride the vinyl wave: this new trend which is none other than the discovery of hot water, which has been talked about for several years to fill newspaper articles, web pages and convince people that the market is now This.
But for those like us who sell physical formats and try to please customers without just following trends, the data of all this "false reality" are very different!
To begin with, even vinyl had NOT disappeared as they led to believe in the late 90s / early 2000s, but we didn't talk about it because in that "historical" period the CD was the master and talking about vinyl was not fashionable . Now the situation has reversed: despite the large numbers of vinyl record sales, the demand for CDs (especially in the last 2 years) has increased, but we don't talk about it because it's not fashionable and it's not convenient for record companies. In fact, the numbers of CDs have increased especially in the second-hand and collector's sector as many\too many titles are no longer available as new items.
Dulcis in fundo, the philosophy of the record companies at the moment is: “Should we continue to print physical formats? Then we have to earn a lot!” All of the above is obviously valid for the major; small labels fortunately still work quite the “old way”!
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