Music stores face 'uncertainty'
By Darren Waters
BBC News Online entertainment staff
UK record shops face an "insecure future" due of downloading and CD
sales in supermarkets, a report has said.
The pressure of new players competing for the record buyer's pound
could make music stores "irrelevant", it stated.
The report was produced by the Music Tank network and published in
trade magazine CMU Weekly.
Online store Napster also announced it has increased the size of its
per track.
Napster said the library is now the world's largest online music
catalogue.
Leanne Sharman, Napster vice-president and UK general manager,
said: "Napster gives users their own virtual music superstore where
there is something for everyone.
"We're very grateful to the labels, artists, managers, publishers and
other rights holders who have been so quick to add their repertoire
to the catalogue."
The music report's author Jennifer O'Kane said competition from
online stories was just one factor being faced by record shops.
'Enhance'
Last week, the British music industry announced that 500,000 songs
had been downloaded legally in the UK so far this year.
"Music stores need to move fast to enhance the customer experience in
order to encourage the public back," she wrote.
"In terms of price, the music retailers have been forced into a price
war by the online music sellers and the supermarkets."
But Ms O'Kane concluded that it would be a mistake for stores to
enter into a cost-cutting battle.
She highlighted the Virgin Megastore in Oxford, which has instrument
dealer Sound Control in its basement.
"This gives the store a new breadth of credibility and encourages new
types of consumer into the store," she wrote.
"To survive the retailers need to think differently," she concluded.
"Record stores have always been the most popular place to purchase
music and are part of the culture here in the UK.
"As the increasing popularity of downloading highlights, there is
certainly still a market for music."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/music/3782739.stm
Published: 2004/06/07 09:47:40 GMT
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