Eliot Van Buskirk

WMG Chief Poo-Poos Plummeting CD Sales

Warner Music Group Chairman Edgar Bronfman, Jr. has a funny way of understanding the ongoing CD sales plunge. He told CNBC, "This decline is steeper than we expected, but in some ways it meanswe’ll get to the bottom faster, and after that there’s growth." Interesting theory. Where’s this growth going to come from? The usual […]

Bronfman_second_life
Warner Music Group Chairman Edgar Bronfman, Jr. has a funny way of understanding the ongoing CD sales plunge. He told CNBC,

"This decline is steeper than we expected, but in some ways it meanswe'll get to the bottom faster, and after that there's growth."

Interesting theory. Where's this growth going to come from? The usual suspects, of course: ringtones, voicetones, video, wallpaper, and other media sold to those who want to personalize their cellphones with material from their favorite artists. Basically, they're going to sell the artist in as many ways as possible:

"We're going to be putting out video and ringtones and ringback tones,
then connecting them to blogs and ticketing opportunities when theartist goes on tour, merchandising, you name it."

I have a feeling this is going to be a "too little too late" sort of situation, and that if anything, emphasizing the ringtone format will only underscore the music industry's reputation as an shallow, overly-commercialized money trench, but he can hardly be blamed for trying.

(via digital music news; image from taotakashi)