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Having just purchased a CD-R for my PC, I was astonished to find that recordable CDs can be had for 50 cents each. And that's with jewel case! That makes the $18 music CD seem a bit out of whack.
Are CD prices too high? Does pricing constrict the amount of music you purchase and listen to? After reading the responses to last week's question, it seems appropriate to ask if you would buy more regular CDs if the price dropped substantially---let's say to around $8 US per disc at retail.
I would not buy more regular CDs, especially rock music, because the recording quality is often so poor. I am spending more of my CD money on recordings---jazz, classical, and rock---that audiophile friends have recommended. It is so disappointing to get a CD of some old or new rock music and discover that it sounds so bad that I can barely stand to listen to it. Price does not constrict the amount of music I purchase and listen to.
How much does it cost to press a CD package it and ship it, $2.50 to $3.00? And now you finally want to lower the price right before DVD-Audio is due out? Is this a clearance sale or a prevent the new much more expensive format from coming out? Does anyone remember consumer DAT and what the record companies did to that? Is anyone out there doing any marketing and listening to what people really want?
Let me qualify that I would buy a lot more new ones from stores. I currently pay $7 for used CDs and that much or less for new full-priced CDs from BMG Music Service and Columbia House. If you collect CDs and are not a member of these clubs you are out of your ever-loving mind, especially if you own a computer, as each of their websites have about 10,000 selections to choose from. Right now BMG has an 80% off sale---that's right, $16.98 CDs for only $3.39. Try getting that at your local Tower Records. This just proves they could be priced a lot cheaper!
$8 brings the cost to the same level as mail-order houses, without the annoying reminders to fill out every 2 weeks. Besides, I've been purchasing a lot more since I found Disc-O-Rama on NY's Union Square---every disc is $9.99 all the time, and they don't play Top 40 while you're shopping. I'd have to move to a bigger apartment if the price fell to $8.
Categories like "Adult Contemporary" aside, music always has been a major focus of youth culture. The unfortunate fact is that many young people aged 16 to 24 are still working in jobs that do not pay much, and so they have restricted budgets. I know because I'm one of them. There are needs to attend to before you satisfy the wants in your life. Buying CDs at an average of $16.99 (NY prices) is not something I can do with any amount of frequency, and the same holds true of many older people, but for a different reason. Should a mature person, or any person for that matter, be expected to plunk down nearly $20 for a CD? When you consider the fact that CDs cost very little to manufacture, it becomes ridiculous. I, for one, would buy a LOT more CDs should the price drop. Not only that, I would buy many CDs I might never have bought to begin with at current prices. Taking a chance on a new but obscure group is a lot easier to do at $10 than at $20.
There's not that much good music out there that I want to listen to anyway; I would probably use the money saved to buy movie DVDs instead. That is probably the reason why CD prices are kept up; decreasing them won't lead to that much of an increase in sales.
Consdiering the cost of a CD is around a dollar or less each to manufacture, I don't see why not selling CDs at $8 a piece. The CD selling volumn will predictably increase by at least two folds if not more. The CD industry, artists, song writers, and so on will benefit from the economic principle of lower costs at higher volumns.
I would definitely buy more CDs if the price was dropped to around $8. Why? Simple. I would be considerably more willing to "take a chance" on music I would not otherwise normally purchase. If record companies want people to be more willing to "impulse buy," they have to make it economical to do just that.
I don't mind paying $16 or so for music I know I like. It's unheard music I am unwilling to pay for because if I don't like it, TOO BAD. Yes, $8 is an advantage, but I would probably buy a lot more CD's if there were a convenient way of sampling a few minutes of music from each beforehand.
I would pay a little more, but I think the bad side to CDs in general is their lack of protection. Cassettes have a hard shell that protects them from scratches, etc. They need to implement a case that is built around the CD, like the ones you use for CD-ROM players (i.e., the caddies!). I would pay a couple bucks more just for that feature alone! If CDs had covers like that, I'm sure people would see the real value!