82% Of U.S. CDs Are Now Distributed By One Company & It’s Not Universal Music
Sony DADC which has acted as the U.S. CD distributor for three of the four major labels has transferred those rights to Knoxville, TN based Anderson Merchandisers. Anderson will now distribute Universal Music, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI CDs to every U.S. wholesaler and retailer.
According to the announcement, the purchase "means the vast majority of physical music sold in America will soon reach customers through Anderson." Warner Music Group, the one distribution holdout, had a U.S. music market share of 18.6% at the end of October 2011, down from 20% at the end of 2010 and falling, according to Nielson SoundScan.
According to the company, by some metrics CD sales are actually improving. Over the last six months, on a comparable store basis, the company's CD sales have increased over the prior year, according to Anderson.
In a statement, CEO Charlie Anderson said competitive pricing and "a more efficient, cost-effective distribution system helps" are making CDs a viable alternative again. "We will continue to work with the labels to help them realize that making music available at an affordable price is a good business decision."
((((((Hello))))) this is some of the biggest news and how this clears DOJ as not being a monopoly waits to be seen.
I guess US a great http://IndependentEntertainmentDistribution.co is needed now more then ever.
Its’ NOT a monopoly. They distribute. They don’t set the prices for the product. They were ‘wholesalers’ who acted as middlemen for walmart, Target, etc.
Do this guys work with independent artists?
wow, interesting, good to know as a musician.
another example of the labels laziness. First they gave away digital distribution to Apple (their only interest is to sell more hardware=gadgets), and now they gave the distribution to Anderson an almost defunct company
HUGE news. Talk about leaving $ on the table. They think the remaining physical (indy) account base is gonna buy from a rack-jobber? This is really short sighted corporate think that will put a knife into what’s left of music retail. Best Buy, Target, and Walmart are Anderson’s account base. How many new & developing artists do you see them stock/help break. Ugh…
Cd’s need to be afordable, otherwise people will continue downloading and copying and that’s the reality. I am a musician myself and I believe that fans hold the power, not the record label execs
Mao
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