Dreadful Classical Music Sales

[Amphissa]

 
I know classical music sells more in Europe than in the U.S. You have many broadcasts of classical music on radio and televsion in Europe to drive sales. We do not have that in the U.S.

However, I do think sales of classical music is very bad worlwide. When we think how much it costs to make good recordings, especially with orchestra, just think how many CDs or downloads must occur to recover the investment.

Just as an exercise for fun, try to guess how many CDs a classical recording must sell to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard charts. A million? 100,000? 10,000?

The facts: "In early October, pianist Murray Perahia's much-praised album of Bach partitas was in its sixth week on the list, holding strong at No. 10. It sold 189 copies."

This was solid sales numbers for a classcal CD by an established artist -- still #10 on the list after 6 weeks.

And to reach the top of the sales chart? Well, if you sell 501, you'll probably be #1 on the charts, because Billboard rounds its sales numbers. 501 is rounded up to 1,000. And 1,000 in sales is HUGE for classical recordings.

Read the article here
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012904193.html?hpid=features1&hpv=national

Yes, I know sales are better in Europe. But the market for classical music is small and shrinking.

I have complained on this board before about the high price of many CDs. I will probably complain again in the future. I do not like paying $18-$25 for a single CD.

However, I still buy CDs. And I praise the small labels like cpo, and the big labels like Naxos, for continuing to record our unsung composers and unsung music by better known composers. I am thankful every day to Hyperion for its Romantic Piano Concerto series, and to Sterling and other small labels for the CDs they produce.

It is a sad state of affairs, and I doubt it will improve much unless the Chinese begin buying classical music in large quantities.

[mbhaub]

The lack of interest in the US for classical music isn't hard to understand: we don't teach it anymore. When I was a kid in schools in the 50's and 60's, once a week we had a nationwide classical broadcast piped into the classrooms. Off the top of my head, I can't recall the host, maybe it was Deems Taylor. Anyway, we listened and there's no doubt that it reached some kids. But, as a high schooler at that time, I know with certainty that I was the only one in a class of 300 students who actively listened to and collected classical. We were rare then, and now. But one thing that has changed, and for the worse, is the extinction of the record store. I used to go there almost every Saturday and browse the classical bins, and it was quite extensive I have to say. The owner would even open LPs and let you sample something. Being able to browse the records, look at the labels and read the liner notes was a major influence in my buying decisions. When CDs came in, being able to read notes was gone, but it didn't matter since the appeal of the silver disks was so terrific. But now, the CD stores are gone. No longer can a kid go to the music store and browse the classical bins because there aren't any. And browsing on-line just isn't the same. Yes, we can now go to many sites and hear samples, but being a old gomer, I miss the record store terrible. That's why I was so thrilled when I was in Vienna, Austria last summer to find six classical/opera cd shops. Made me want to pack up and move there! At least some place still values classical. London, too, has several dedicated classical shops. But not LA, Chicago, New York...

[sdtom]

As some of you know I'm also involved in soundtrack releases, which has managed to survive on a small scale by making material limited edition, thus collectible. Perhaps this is an area that the labels should take a look at.
Thomas

[Ilja]

Don't forget that the music market has become strongly fragmented since the 1980s in general - which makes a niche that holds its own a valuable asset in itself. Madonna- or Michael Jackson-esque sales figures are things of the past, partly because the market as a whole has fallen into strong decline (note: not the interest in music, just the sales volume of the music industry), and partly because it has become very diversified. This is a situation that is still developing, so it's difficult to make any accurate predictions in the long run. However, one thing we can be certain about is that the end of the CD as the most prominent music carrier is very near (and in the volume of music consumption vs. music sales, it already behind us). We will probably see a further fragmentation of the market, with an added diversification of carriers, most of them digital.

I'm not pessimistic about the classical 'record' business, but it is very much a niche market (and with the odd exception, has been for decades). Labels can exist off a very limited number of consumers, and there appears to be enough rejuvenation to keep the community going at least for the foreseeable future.

The situation for orchestras is much more difficult, but in essence it is a different problem.