Trend: Walt Disney Hopes to Encourage CD Purchases By Offering New CD Format
Posted July 18, 2007 — in Music News
Walt Disney takes creative action to reverse declining of CD Sales..
Walt Disney music label Hollywood Records is offering a new CD format with extra features to encourage CD purchases in an effort to reverse declining CD sales. Hollywood Records recently unveiled its new CDVU+ (CD View Plus) format with digital magazine extras, song lyrics, band photos and other extras to boost fan loyalty.
The new format also replaces the traditional CD booklet and plastic jewel case with recyclable packaging. Teen pop punk band Jonas Brothers will be the first act to use the technology when they release their album on August 7. (Reuters)
Bottom Line: It’s about time a music label offered a new CD format despite the digital revolution. It needed an overhaul. Although it may not significantly spike CD sales, the standard CD jewel case is cheap and certainly not sexy. Again, hit records and artists will benefit the most.
Cool…will they sell them in the ZERO record stores across the country?
Silly Disney kids. If a 12 year-old understands how to put their CDVU+ (lol) into their computer to see the “digital magazine extras, song lyrics, band photos and other extras”, they know how to type in http://www.limewire.com
God bless ‘em, they’re tryin’, those label folk.
Comment by Stu Gots — July 18, 2007 @ 10:29 pm
Trust me .. if young children can sell drugs to each other .. they can put a ’silly” cdvu in their computer .. I think its a brilliant idea.
Comment by realmad — July 19, 2007 @ 6:27 am
Yawn.. It’s good to know these guys still think its 1995… before we had band websites, myspace, and youtube.
This is not a trend, this is doomed attempt to charge more money for CDs before the CD dies.
Comment by Veken Gueyikian — July 19, 2007 @ 6:37 am
MAJOR LABEL,how about an internet rock video channel that a fan could click on the video and then purchase the bands song and have it charged to their phone line and that way they could buy all the music they want and no one gets ripped.and the money for the music purchase would be collected when people pay their phone bill.
KOAR,check out this band
http://www.myspace.com/thepanderers
Comment by larry anderson — July 19, 2007 @ 7:40 am
I disagree with the above comments. Meaning, it may be a doomed attempt but CD still accounts for 80% of album purchases. I never got the ‘Roll Over and Die’ Mentality.
You still have millions of people that want a CD. So why not cater to them? Nickelback is reaching the 7 Million Mark. Thats 3 million away from Diamond. Those are great #’s. If every music label had one Nickelback doing those numbers the complaints would stop.
I have an ipod, iTunes, yet I still buy CD’s only from artists that i believe in. Alot of consumers have the same buying bahavior as i do.
Comment by KOAR Staff — July 19, 2007 @ 8:31 am
I agree with Dean. The physical product isn’t dead, as can be seen with the recent post about vinyl sales increasing. Consumers can get ‘disposable’ music online…so why would they buy a physical copy of something just as disposable?
I’ve said it before, and here it is again- sell it digitally…make it readily available to everyone, but don’t cut out the physical side. Reformat CDs so they’re worth purchasing. Offer exclusives and things you can’t get digitally. Artwork is extremely important as well. Like Dean said, people buy CD’s from artists they BELIEVE in. They aren’t buying the cd just to hear the songs. Chances are they’ve already heard all the songs by the time they get to the store/merch table. They’re buying it to support the band, so give them more.
I don’t think this new CD format will ’save’ Disney sales…of course they don’t really need any help since all their kids albums still go platinum. But as far as being an example for other labels, I would actually suggest they take it even further than Disney has. Enhanced CDs are nothing new, and they haven’t really proven effective. But the IDEA…the idea is gold. Offer more and allow fans to really get in there and be a part of the experience.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — July 19, 2007 @ 10:26 am
well.. I wasn’t suggesting anyone stop selling CDs.. Obviously a lot of people are still buying them and they should still be sold. I’m sure Disney will make a lot of money selling these. Coolfer actually has a good take on this. http://www.coolfer.com/blog/archives/2007/07/new_format_same.php
But when talking about new trends that will have an impact, I don’t think CDVU+, like enhanced CDs or DualDiscs before them, are going to make much difference.
Comment by Veken Gueyikian — July 19, 2007 @ 11:42 am
“Artwork is extremely important as well.”
Something some bands really understand. Tool is a good example, but I also liked the ‘book’-version including a dvd of The Used’s “Lies For The Liars” a lot.
Comment by Bart Nijssen — July 19, 2007 @ 11:56 am
come on guys…if the music ain’t enough ?
do any of us still read the back of the cereal box?
Comment by larry anderson — July 19, 2007 @ 7:02 pm
If the music ain’t enough to what? Sell physical copies of cds? Come on Larry…you’re not new here. You KNOW it’s not enough. If it were, we wouldn’t be having 90% of the discussions that take place on this site.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — July 20, 2007 @ 1:50 am
If they want to add enhancements to a standard cd.. that’s one thing.. but if they charge more for providing those enhancements, then it’s doomed to failure.
Give us more value for the same money.. and don’t say it’s an “enhanced cd”… let people know exactly want they’re getting.
I think the labels have done a poor job of promoting such features which is why they’ve never really made a difference.
How about an awareness campaign to let the average user know about “enhanced cds” because while those of us posting here do, it still seems the average person does not!
Comment by cartel — July 20, 2007 @ 8:04 am
Enhanced cd’s are sooooooooooo 1999
I don’t care about enhanced cd’s; what I care about are bonus-discs (dvd’s for example) and cool artwork/packaging. Not an enhanced video in bad computer-resolution….
Comment by Bart Nijssen — July 20, 2007 @ 8:28 am