The Seeker of Good Songs
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A former major-label boss has called for a radical drop in the price of albums.
Rob Dickins, who ran the UK division of Warner Music for 15 years, made the suggestion at Manchester's In the City music industry conference last week, claiming the move would combat piracy and give sales a massive boost.
Dickins achieved success with acts such as REM and Madonna between 1983 and 1998. Since then, album sales have gone into freefall, and he claimed the only way back is a "revolutionary" reduction in price, according to the BBC.
"What we need is a revolution. What we've got is an erosion," Dickins said. "When I was running Warners, a chart CD could be £12.99. A chart CD can now be £6.99, maybe even £5.99."
Dickins predicted that such a drop would galvanise the market, leading consumers into impulse-buying, which would make up the shortfall. During the debate, which included REM's manager Bertis Downs, Dickins argued: "If you're a fan of REM and you've got 10 albums and there's a new album coming out, you've got to make that decision about whether you want it or not. If we lived in a micro-economy, that wouldn't be a decision. You'd just say, 'I like REM' and you'd buy it."
Under this new "micro-economy", Dickins predicted, a major album could easily sell £200m copies. However, his plan would depend on "360 deals" in which record companies take a significant cut from touring and merchandise – this is how labels would make "big-money".
Dickins continued: "To a degree it solves piracy because if it's such a small amount, people are more likely to pay it than (download for) free."
However his comments have attracted criticism. Paul Quirk, chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association, responded: "Rob Dickins is part of the generation of executives who benefited from the age of £14 CDs and gave the music business a bad name. So it is ironic to hear him espouse the cause of the £1 album. Basic arithmetic indicates that this is a non-starter."
from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/oct/18/former-music-industry-boss
Rob Dickins, who ran the UK division of Warner Music for 15 years, made the suggestion at Manchester's In the City music industry conference last week, claiming the move would combat piracy and give sales a massive boost.
Dickins achieved success with acts such as REM and Madonna between 1983 and 1998. Since then, album sales have gone into freefall, and he claimed the only way back is a "revolutionary" reduction in price, according to the BBC.
"What we need is a revolution. What we've got is an erosion," Dickins said. "When I was running Warners, a chart CD could be £12.99. A chart CD can now be £6.99, maybe even £5.99."
Dickins predicted that such a drop would galvanise the market, leading consumers into impulse-buying, which would make up the shortfall. During the debate, which included REM's manager Bertis Downs, Dickins argued: "If you're a fan of REM and you've got 10 albums and there's a new album coming out, you've got to make that decision about whether you want it or not. If we lived in a micro-economy, that wouldn't be a decision. You'd just say, 'I like REM' and you'd buy it."
Under this new "micro-economy", Dickins predicted, a major album could easily sell £200m copies. However, his plan would depend on "360 deals" in which record companies take a significant cut from touring and merchandise – this is how labels would make "big-money".
Dickins continued: "To a degree it solves piracy because if it's such a small amount, people are more likely to pay it than (download for) free."
However his comments have attracted criticism. Paul Quirk, chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association, responded: "Rob Dickins is part of the generation of executives who benefited from the age of £14 CDs and gave the music business a bad name. So it is ironic to hear him espouse the cause of the £1 album. Basic arithmetic indicates that this is a non-starter."
from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/oct/18/former-music-industry-boss
