Best Buy to pull CD’s from its stores this summer

You may have heard by now that Best Buy has announced to music suppliers that it will pull all CDs from the stores as early as July 1^st.  While I should not be completely surprised by the announcement given that we now have more options available when it comes to listening to our favorite artists’ and songs such as Apple Music, Pandora, and Spotify, I will admit that when I first heard the news I was stunned. The first CD I bought was Britney Spears’ first album Baby, One More Time at the age of 9 and even to this day I will still by CD’s by some of my favorite artists. To me there’s just something exciting about going to Best Buy or my local music store to Browse or buy CD’s.  

An Article from National Public Radio (NPR) sates that in 2015, music streaming has resulted in the first increase in the music industry’s global revenues since the year 1999 by $500 million. The article also says that in 2016, streaming services became the primary way that Americans listened to music. In fact, The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has estimated that 112 million people worldwide now pay for access to streaming services and that those streaming services have contributed toward a 20.5 % decline in downloads and a 7.6% decline in physical revenue in 2017.

Best Buy generates only $40 million annually in CD’s and while they are pulling CD’s they will continue to sell vinyl for the next two years because of a commitment they have made to venders. As for other stores, Target has announced that it wants music to be sold on a consignment basis and currently, Target takes the inventory risk by agreeing to pay for any goods that are shipped within 60 days and must pay to ship back any unsold CDs for credit. With consignment, the inventory risk goes back to the labels. For now it seems that Best Buy is the only store making the decision to pull CD’s from its shelves.

As I said earlier, I am not completely surprised because streaming is now the primary way that we get access to our entertainment not just with music, but also our favorite television shows and movies. This announcement also makes me wonder how long it will be before DVD’s and Blu-rays are pulled from the shelves as well. What are your thoughts on the announcement? Feel free to comment below if you would like I will also have links to the articles as well.                

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/06/583666258/best-buy-to-pull-cds-from-its-stores-according-to-report

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8097929/best-buy-to-pull-cds-target-threatens-to-pay-labels-for-cds-only-when