Editor's note: Once again; a label fails to understand the audience. One of the largest growth sectors continues to be dvd. More and more...the audience is purchasing home theater set-ups to take advantage of surround sound, widescreen etc. Value added content to cds?! Smirk....put all your cds onto dvd and put value added content on it. Oh wait...I think they stallingly sort of tried that by allowing Rhino to put out DVD-A's of a few of their poncy titles way before a tipping over point was established. Value added cds are only of use if the additions include mp-3's, a surround layer (not a poxy "better stereo" claptrap) and moving pics or at least stills. BRING BACK DVD-AUDIO WITH A RESPECTABLE NUMBER OF TITLES FROM ARTISTS OTHER THAN QUEENSRYCHE BEFORE YOU TRY ANY MORE HALF-HEARTED ATTEMPTS AT MARKETING A DEAD FORMAT...(catches breath...)...oh, and don't nobody release any Weird Al dualdiscs ever again... Sales of physical formats have been declining for years, though recent half-year figures from the RIAA could signal a steeper drop ahead. Whisper numbers from major label executives have also pointed to potentially dour year-end tallies, though the all-important fourth quarter is mostly unfinished. Regardless of the eventual result, executives are now being confronted with a growing concern. Recently, EMI Music chairman and chief executive Alain Levy noted that the CD in its current form is "dead," while pointing to a fresh class of physical releases. "The CD as it is now is dead, but a new version with added value will live on," Levy said during a recent discussion at the London Business School. "By the beginning of next year, none of our CDs will come without added value of some sort, to be accessed when you put the CD into your computer." DVDs are renowned for their navigation menus and content add-ons, and that could dampen movie piracy in the coming years. But CDs are different, especially within listening environments like the automobile. Labels have been layering extras into CDs for years, and it remains unclear if beefed-up discs will successfully stem piracy and drive retail traffic. Meanwhile, Levy pointed to continued demand for physical formats. "There will always be a need for the physical product," Levy said. "You're not going to give your mother-in-law an iTunes download for Christmas...we are not seeing a downturn from the supermarkets, I think sales are actually going up." A transcript of the comments were supplied to Digital Music News by an EMI Music representative.
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