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13.07.12MusicWeek 3
HMV SUGGESTS RECORD COMPANIESWILL CANNABALISE SALES BY CRAMMING RELEASES
Labels’ Q4 congestion ‘worse than ever’ H
RELEASES BY PAULWILLIAMS
MVhas accused labels of throwing away potential albumsales
because they are packing too many of their biggest releases into a fewmonths of the year. At a timewhen themarket is
reeling fromunit albumsales at 2012’smid-way point dropping 13.8%on the year, the retailer’s musicmanager JohnHirst has turned the spotlight onwhat has been an opening half of 2012 with fewpriority releases and then a planned avalanche come September. “For six yearswe’ve been
pushing themessage to labels [to spread out their releases],but this is theworst examplewe’ve ever had,”saidHirstwho hit out at the “barren”release schedules inQ2 when someweeks the top-selling artist albumcould not even manage to shift 20,000 copies. While therewere some big
albums that came out in the quarter, includingXLartist Jack White’s solo debut and newtitles fromPolydor’sCherylCole, Island’sNickiMinaj,RCA’s Paloma Faith andGaryBarlow with hisDecca-issuedDiamond Jubileemini album, these pale into insignificance compared to what the industry plans to roll out just in September this year.
“For six yearswe’ve been
pushing the releasesmessage to labels, but this is theworst examplewe’ve ever had” JOHN HIRST, HMV
big albumswere all due to be released on the same day. “In the current climate people
Retail therapy: HMV fears the condensing of new releases into too short a space of time
aren’t going to buy three albums in one day.You end up cannibalising sales,”he said. “Probably four of these albums should do 100,000 sales [first week], but one of themwill probably sell 100,000 and the restwill underperform.” Hirst also raised concerns
“The rest of the year does
look pretty strong, September particularly, but it does underline whywewish some of these albumswere coming out earlier,” saidHirst. September’sweighty schedule
Coming up: New albums from The Killers, Muse and Mumford & Sons... but will consumers have the money to buy so many albums close together?
will include newalbums byMuse, Mumford&Sons,TheKillers
andwill.i.am,butHirst suggested having these andmanymore all coming out around the same time wouldmean some potential sales would be lost. In oneweek in September he noted a handful of
about the lowsales numbers currently needed eachweek to break into theTop 10 – typically the threshold is around 10,000 units – and feared some labels were too focused on chart position and could be maximising sales further. “Some of these albums should
be selling 10,000 unitsmore each week,”he said. “The effort is not going intoTVadvertising and getting artists onTV. I know there aren’t asmany programmes as there used to be,but there seems to be
complacency.People aremore concerned about chart
position than sales.” For fullQ2 analysis see pages 12-15.
Wenham reassures AIM members ‘small is the only place to be’
AIMchief executive Alison Wenham delivered a speech at the association’s AGMlast week in which she reassured indie labels that they will survive and grow while digital distribution is “forced forward” and the major labels “eat each other”. Wenham suggested that there
were opportunities for indie labels to exploit an industry that she said seemed in a hurry to push the digital avenues quicker than consumers were ready for. She also said, however, that
digital sceptics should be patient with the likes of Spotify. “You’ll see, I think, that in the end these services will become very
significant parts of your business,” she argued. Wenham pointed to Q1 digital
revenue exceeding physical in the UK for the first time this year and more digital headway being made in the US. “But please don’t neglect the
physical market,” she warned, “because it is still the greater part of our daily business. “I think there is a squeeze on
to force the industry over to digital more quickly than consumers might want to follow it,” she added. “I think there’s a huge
opportunity for independents there with vinyl - which is back
on the increase - and also in filling the gaps in catalogue when those catalogue items become too small for larger companies to look after.” Wenhamalso introduced what
she called “a fairly significant investment” in new head of Legal and Commercial Affairs, Worldwide IndependentNetwork
Charlie Phillips who recently joined AIMfromthe IFPI. Phillips will be writing “the
bible” on how AIMmembers can look after their performance, neighbouring and PPL rights as well as aidingWenham in lobbying for changes in distribution methodologies overseas and engaging with the creation of a global repertoire database. The AIMCEO used the final
third of her speech to slam Universal’s proposed EMIMusic acquisition but said: “We are actually quite buoyant about the possibility that the FTC in the US and the European
Commission will block this merger.” Describing how the major
labels are now “eating each other” - and predicting that there would one day only be two major labels in existence -Wenham concluded: “Small is the only place to be right now because if you’re up there living with [the major labels], I would imagine that you’re suffering from severe oxygen starvation. “But if you’re here with us,
with the services that we offer, the camaraderie that we have and the support of the larger labels in the room...You will carry on in this industry and you will grow.”
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