Tag Archives: music

The Only Way Is Up…for Music

Economy, , , ,

And that’s what has been happening.  Finally.  It sure has taken a long time.  But figures now show an increase of 8.5 percent year-over-year for the first six months of 2011.  According to a report in AdAge, this puts the industry “on track to become the first full year of positive music sales since 2004.”

Dramatic Digital Sales

According to Nielsen SoundScan, it seems like it is the digital sales that are the force behind this escalation.  Digital album sales increased almost 20 percent and digital track sales, 11 percent.  But Nielsen Entertainment’s Senior VP-Analytics was somewhat surprised by this.  David Bakula told Ad Age that “sales figures were starting to plateau heading into fourth-quarter 2010.”

So what is the reason for this increase?  There have been many events that have stimulated this: for the first time, the Beatles catalog is now available for digital download; Limewire (an illegal downloading site) was shuttered; and stores such as Circuit City and some Borders locations have closed down.  It seems that these events have “given digital music sales more momentum.”  As well, in general, the public is feeling more comfortable with digital too.

Album Sale Increase

There have been substantial gains with actual album sales too: from every three albums purchased, two are CDs.  Looking at all sales (actual and digital) there has been an increase of 3.6 percent in the first half of 2011.

Some Bad News

But while this is of course great  news, there is unfortunately still some problems within the music industry.  There is still a way to go on the recovery chart.  The music industry has been enduring losses for the last seven years – with an especially tough year last year when sales dropped 2.4 percent.

However, now that there has been this substantial increase, Bakula believes “the upward trend in digital single sales…coupled with a promising fourth-quarter release slate and aggressive music-catalog promotions from shows like ‘Glee’ should even things out.”

Gaga Goes Gaga?

Consumerism, Economy, ,

Lady Gaga’s Marketing Means 

Lady Gaga is doing something different. Again. This time with regards to how she is marketing her songs. Instead of just selling them through the normal channels, Lady Gaga is offering music from her latest album through the online game FarmVille. As yet, only three singles have been released from the album.

So how exactly will it work? Well, to even get to hear the new song before the May 23 release date, fans of Lady Gaga will need to complete tasks that she sets, as created by Zynga. It is a great social networking campaign and to catch it you need to be online from May 17-19 and hook up to Gagaville, a neighboring Farmville farm.

It’s not a bad idea since as it is, on a monthly basis, approximately 46 million individuals are enjoying Farmville from all around the world.

Gaga’s Other Tricks 

In another way of getting herself out there, Lady Gaga’s face will be seen on a new card game from Loto-Quebec. Apparently this game isn’t so popular though amongst critics who attack it for encouraging those gamblers who already have a problem. But it’s big money. Indeed, in the 41 years Loto-Quebec has been in business, this marks it’s “highest royalty fee” at $300,000. Lotto Poker’s commercial was first aired on Tuesday, featuring the dance song. It’s Lady Gaga’s Poker Face song that features as background music for the commercial.

The aim from the company is to attract the younger generation, individuals in their 20s and 30s. But this has also received criticism for cajoling in the youngsters. It’s true that the underage fans will be banned from playing Lotto Poker but still, the young adults who are anyway somewhat vulnerable are being put in a tough spot.