Record stores can't beat 'em, may join 'em

Record stores can't beat 'em, may join 'em
Tags: Digital Download, Digital Media Kiosk, Entertainment & Gaming, Retail Self-Service
October 26, 2005

The Modesto Bee: Record stores are inviting the enemy in.

In-store sales have been slumping badly while you've been burning your friends' CDs, downloading songs for 99 cents online and grabbing inexpensive hits on impulse at Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

Overall, CD sales are down about 7 percent from last year — part of a five-year downturn — while digital track sales are up more than 30 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan. And traditional music stores made up less than half of the nation's album sales for the first time last year.

To draw listeners back, retailers are putting CD burners and downloading technology in stores.